Bangers and Mash

I know I say this about most British recipes, but Bangers and Mash along with Fish and Chips and Pie and Mash, have to be the all time most popular British foods!

There are many great dishes, but they are not to everyones taste and Bangers and Mash is certainly something that we have all eaten, whether at home or in a pub. Of course you are probably more likely to get a Tikka Masala or Pad Thai in a pub these days!

So what is a Banger you may well ask? It is the great British sausage. Sadly many of you can probably remember your visits to the Uk back in the old days, when our sausages usally came packed with rusk and about 30% meat. My wife even remembers these from her student days in England and recalls that they were awful. These days she loves the sausages and the vast range you can now buy in the supermarkets or butchers!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the bangers in onion gravy

  8 good quality pork sausages
  2 onions, sliced
  500ml beef stock
  172 tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh thyme
  ½ tsp English mustard
  Salt and black pepper
  2 tsp softened butter
  2 tsp plain flour
  300g frozen peas

For the mash

  Approx 900g potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
  50g/1¾oz butte
  100ml milk
  Salt and pepper to season

Preparation method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Put the sausages on a roasting tin and place in the oven. Cook them for about 10 minutes then turn them over and cook for a further five minutes, or until they have a good colour on the outside.

Fry the onions in a pan with a little butter then mix the softened butter and plain flour together to form a paste and add to the onions, mix the thyme, mustard and stock together in a bowl or measuring jug and pour over the onions.

For the mash, boil the potatoes in a pan of boiling water until tender. Drain and return them to the pot add the butter and milk and mash. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to season.

Cook the peas in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or steam them for 1-2 minutes. Drain thoroughly and set aside.

Remove the sausages from the baking tray, set aside and cover to keep warm. Add the sausages to the gravy mix and warm through for 1-2 minutes.

Serve the sausages, mash and peas spoon the onion gravy over the top.

Enjoy!