This easy bollito misto recipe is a comforting Italian classic made with boiled meats and vegetables from Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course recipe book. Learn how to create this hearty dish with simple ingredients for an authentic Italian feast.
It's so quick to prepare...it does it's thing on the hob for half an hour...and then you tuck in with plenty of good bread to mop up all the flavoursome sauce!
Tips
- Italian sausages - if you're unable to get Italian sausages, pork sausages are a good substitute, along with 1 tsp of fennel seeds and 0.5 tsp of chilli flakes. Grind the fennel seeds and chilli flakes together with a pestle and mortar until the fennel seeds are lightly crushed - add at step 2 along with the garlic, celery and carrots. They add a delicious flavour to the sauce!
- Puy lentils - dried puy lentils will take the full cooking time, however, you can also buy a pouch of cooked puy lentils (I use Merchant Gourmet). If using cooked puy lentils, add them at step 3 after the stock etc has been simmering for 15 minutes. They will only need 10 minutes cooking time.
- While traditionally a meat-based dish, you could replace the sausages and chorizo with root vegetables, tofu or legumes (eg: butter beans) and vegetable stock for a vegetarian option.
- This easy bollito misto recipe is easily halved if you're cooking for less people.
Featured comment
"So easy to make. My husband adores this!!! I made a garlic and rosemary focaccia to go with this, I have in the past also made butter and garlic mash (garlic roasted in the oven 1st for both) and everybody loved both Really warming and filling, budget friendly too"
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Frequently Asked Questions
Traditionally, Bollito Misto includes a variety of meats such as beef brisket, veal, chicken, cotechino sausage, and sometimes tongue. The variety of meats creates a rich, flavourful broth, and each cut brings its own texture and flavour to the dish.
Bollito Misto typically takes 2 to 3 hours to cook, depending on the cuts of meat you use. Hardier meats like brisket or pork shoulder will need longer cooking times (around 2 to 3 hours), while chicken and veal will cook more quickly (about 1 to 1.5 hours).
Common vegetables used in Bollito Misto include carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes. These vegetables add sweetness and texture to the dish and complement the richness of the meat.
Yes - Bollito Misto can be made ahead and reheated when needed. In fact, letting the meats sit in the sauce overnight can enhance the flavour. Just add some more stock to loosen the sauce if it's become too thick or soaked up by the lentils.
Bollito Misto is traditionally served with the meats sliced on a platter alongside boiled vegetables like carrots and potatoes. You can also serve it with salsa verde, mustard, or horseradish for added flavour. Or simply with plenty of bread to soak up the delicious sauce!
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How to make this Easy Bollito Misto
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 Italian sausages (see Tips)
- 200g cooking chorizo, halved lengthways
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 2 celery sticks, trimmed and thickly sliced diagonally
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
- 200g dried puy lentils (see Tips)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 750ml chicken stock (made using 1.5 stock cubes or pots)
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- flat leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat and add a little oil. Fry the sausages for 3 to 4 minutes until coloured on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add the chorizo pieces, cut side down, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until they start to release their coloured oil and begin to crisp up. Turn over and colour on the other side for a minute or two. Remove and set aside with the sausages.
- Add the garlic, celery and carrots to the pan and stir for 2 minutes until the garlic is tender. Stir in the lentils, then return the sausages and chorizo to the pan with the bay leaf and thyme springs. Stir well.
- Add 600ml of the stock, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes until the sausages are cooked through, the lentils tender and the stock well flavoured. If the stock levels drop too low while the lentils are cooking, top up with a little of the remaining stock. Keep any leftover stock to add if reheating, as it will help to loosen the sauce as it thickens with the puy lentils.
- Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and serve the bollito misto in shallow bowls, garnished with the chopped parsley.
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Easy Bollito Misto
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 Italian sausages (see Notes)
- 200 g (1 ¾ cups) cooking chorizo halved lengthways
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
- 2 celery sticks trimmed and thickly sliced diagonally
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced diagonally
- 200 g (1 cup) dried puy lentils (see Notes)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 750 ml (3 ¼ cups) chicken stock (made using 1.5 stock cubes or pots)
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- flat leaf parsley chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat and add a little oil. Fry the sausages for 3 to 4 minutes until coloured on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add the chorizo pieces, cut side down, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until they start to release their coloured oil and begin to crisp up. Turn over and colour on the other side for a minute or 2. Remove and set aside with the sausages.
- Add the garlic, celery and carrots to the pan and stir for 2 minutes until the garlic is tender. Stir in the lentils, then return the sausages and chorizo to the pan with the bay leaf and thyme springs. Stir well.
- Add 600ml of the stock, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes until the sausages are cooked through, the lentils tender and the stock well flavoured. If the stock levels drop too low while the lentils are cooking, top up with a little of the remaining stock. Keep any leftover stock to add if reheating, as it will help to loosen the sauce as it thickens with the puy lentils.
- Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and serve the bollito misto in shallow bowls, garnished with the chopped parsley.
Notes
-
- Italian sausages - if you're unable to get Italian sausages, pork sausages are a good substitute, along with 1 tsp of fennel seeds and 0.5 tsp of chilli flakes. Grind the fennel seeds and chilli flakes together with a pestle and mortar until the fennel seeds are lightly crushed - add at step 2 along with the garlic, celery and carrots. They add a delicious flavour to the sauce!
- Puy lentils - dried puy lentils will take the full cooking time, however, you can also buy a pouch of cooked puy lentils (I use Merchant Gourmet). If using cooked puy lentils, add them at step 3 after the stock etc has been simmering for 15 minutes. They will only need 10 minutes cooking time.
- While traditionally a meat-based dish, you could replace the sausages and chorizo with root vegetables, tofu or legumes (eg: butter beans) and vegetable stock for a vegetarian option.
- This easy bollito misto recipe is easily halved if you're cooking for less people.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
V Astley says
So easy to make. My husband adorous this!!! I made a garlic and rosemary focaccia to go with this, I have in the past also made butter and garlic mash (garlic roasted in the oven 1st for both) and everybody loved iboth Really warming and filling,budget friendly too
Deborah says
Thank you for taking the time to comment - it's much appreciated! So glad you enjoy it and thank you for the suggested sides to go along with it - they sound delicious too😊