The way to my husband's heart is surely through a big plate of "Bangers and Mash." He is a true meat and potatoes kind of a guy, and this kind of meal is surely one of his favorite ways to have both of his loves all on one plate.
More often than not he likes things to be quite simple . . . pan fried sausage and ordinary mash, all topped with Bisto onion gravy granules.
I don't do gravy granules. Sorry Todd. It was not something that I was brought up with. My mother always made her own gravy, from scratch, and we never had it with sausages. At best my father would ask for a jar of mayonnaise to be on the table so that he could dip his sausages in that.
I have to confess that I was never very fond of sausages for supper when I was a child. I think the first sausages I really enjoyed was at my SIL's in Toronto one weekend. She had bought some lovely British "Bangers" at a local butcher's. That is when I learnt that sausages could actually taste really nice, although I am willing to concede that it is really all purely a matter of taste. One man's meat is truly another man's poison.
I happen to love British Bangers, so long as they are not the cheap nasty ones filled with who knows what and lots of fat. You need some fat of course, but you don't need all those other fillers. I buy the best sausage my money can buy and am happy with that . . . and I favour Cumberland over all others. There are as many types of sausage here in the UK as there are counties and locales. They really take their sausage seriously!!
Every once in a while I like to shake up the mash as well and do something quite different and a tad bit out of the ordinary with it.
Today I borrowed a leaf from Nigel Slater's, The Kitchen Diaries, and made his Cream & Mustard Mash from on page 325. It sounded rich, and deliciously indulgent.
And it was . . . with lovely single cream, two kinds of mustard and a nice knob of butter.
I didn't fancy plain fried sausages, nor did I fancy any gravy. I wanted my sausage to speak for itself.
And so I glazed them with a lovely mix of orange marmalade, soy sauce, mustard, balsamic vinegar and rosemary . . . the mixture thickens into a sticky, finger licking bit of deliciousness . . . coating those lovely bangers and gilding them all over with sweet/sour/salty tastiness.
Of course I added another knob of butter to the top o the potatoes when I served them . . . so that the heat of the potatoes would cause it to melt . . .
melting into golden buttery rivulets, each flowing down the sides of the mash, sinking into the crevices, gilding them and creating even more tastiness! What more could you ask for?
Yield: 4Author: Marie Rayner
Sticky Sausages with Cream & Mustard Mash
prep time: 10 minscook time: 25 minstotal time: 35 minsA fabulous weeknight supper with sticky glazed sausages and a rich well flavoured indulgent mash. All you need is a green vegetable on the side.ingredients:
For the sausages:1 tsp oil
8 thick pork butchers sausages(I like Cumberland Sausage)2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar2 TBS orange marmalade2 TBS soy sauce1 tsp Dijon mustardspring rosemary
For the mash:4 large floury potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters3 TBS buttera handful fresh parsley chopped1 TBS each Dijon and Grainy Mustard300ml single cream, gently warmed (1 1/2 cups)warm Milk if needed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)
instructions:
Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook until fork tender.While
the potatoes are boiling, heat the oil in a skillet and add the
sausages. Cook the sausages, turning them frequently, until golden brown
on all sides and almost cooked through (about 12 minutes). Drain any
fat from the pan. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, orange marmalade
soy sauce and mustard in a small bowl. Warm together in the microwave
until the marmalade melts, whisking all together well. Pour this over
the sausages in the skillet and add the sprig of rosemary. Simmer gently
for several minutes, until well glazed and cooked through. Keep warm.
Drain
the potatoes well and return them to the saucepan. Place on the
residual heat of the burner to dry out a bit adding the butter and
letting it melt. Whisk both mustard's into the warm cream and pour over
the potatoes in the saucepan. Mash well together until smooth, adding
warm milk if need be to get to the consistency you desire. Stir through
the parsley.Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if need be.
Serve the glazed sausages with the hot mash. Yum!!Created using The Recipes Generator
This makes a lovely midweek meal, with very little work required. Just buy the best sausage your money can buy and let them do their magic. Bon Appetit!
