Butter-Enriched Tomato Sausage Bake

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large oven-safe frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the sausages on all sides, about 8-10 minutes total. They don't need to be cooked through — they'll finish in the oven. Remove and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F).

In the same pan with the sausage drippings, melt 60g butter over medium heat. Add the diced yellow onion and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the sliced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant — don't let it brown.

Add the tomatoes (roughly chopped if using whole), salt, and black pepper. Stir everything together and let it bubble gently for 5 minutes, crushing the tomatoes slightly with your spoon to release their juices.

Tear in most of the basil and fold it through the sauce. This is where the butter makes its scandalous entrance — the sauce should look glossy and unctuous, not watery.

Nestle the browned sausages back into the sauce, spooning some sauce over each one. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes until the sausages are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.

While the bake is in the oven, make the breadcrumb crust: melt 30g butter with 1 tbsp olive oil in a small pan, toss in the breadcrumbs, and toast until golden and crispy.

Remove the bake from the oven, scatter the golden breadcrumb mixture over the top, and return to the oven for 3-5 minutes until the crust is deeply golden and the edges are caramelized.

Finish with the remaining fresh basil leaves. Serve directly from the pan — the performance is part of the dish.