Heat the oven to 350 °F.

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Slice the casing off the sausage and crumble the raw meat into the pan. I used fresh chorizo because it’s easy to find in my neighborhood and I love the spicy, smoky flavor, but you should use whatever your favorite is. A sweet Italian sausage would taste great too. Sauté the meat until it’s no longer pink, then move it to a large bowl.

Sauté the onion and garlic in the same pan, with the sausage drippings. Once the onion turns translucent, add the cabbage and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender enough to jab easily with a fork. Season generously with salt and pepper.

While the cabbage cooks, mix the rice and lentils into the sausage bowl. Add salt, pepper, and any other spices you’d like. I’d suggest repeating whatever spices are in the sausage: in the case of chorizo, that was paprika, cumin, and dried chilies, but if you were using Italian sausage, you might add some fennel seeds. Make sure you taste the mixture as you season it. If both parts of the casserole are tasty, you’ll end up with a delicious meal. If they aren’t seasoned well, it’ll be bland.

Lightly oil a large casserole dish. Spread the lentil-rice-sausage mixture into an even layer. Next, spread the cabbage mixture on top. Then, as evenly as possible, pour the puréed tomatoes over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake until hot and bubbly, approximately 30 minutes.