Sausages With Mashed Potatoes, Beer and Onion Gravy and Mustard

English_Rose's Note:

Bangers and Mash British Style! Taken from Rick Stein's Recipe. See original here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/sausageswithmashedpo_757.shtml

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 8 links pork sausage
• English mustard , to serve

For the gravy

• 1 ½ lbs onions , sliced thinly
• 1 pinch sugar
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 ounce butter
• 1 teaspoon plain flour
• 2 ¼ cups brown ale
• 2 ¼ cups beef broth
• ½ star anise
• 2 cloves
• 2 fresh bay leaves

For the mashed potatoes

• 2 lbs potatoes , peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 ounces butter
• 2 -3 tablespoons milk
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. To make the beer and onion gravy, heat the oil and the butter in a large, heavy based saucepan.
2. Add the onions and sugar and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and richly caramelised.
3. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the beer, beef broth, star anise, cloves and bay leaves and boil vigorously until reduced to a rich, glossy sauce - about 20 minutes in a large sauté pan.
5. Remove the star anise, bayleaves and cloves (if you can find them) from the gravy and season to taste with some salt and pepper.
6. For the sausages and mashed potato, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 minutes until soft.
7. Then after about 10 minutes, heat the oil for the sausages in a large frying pan.
8. Add the sausages and fry them over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, turning now and then, until nicely browned and cooked through.
9. Drain the potatoes and mash until smooth - a potato ricer does this really well.
10. Beat in the butter with some seasoning and enough milk to make a smooth, creamy mash.
11. Spoon the mashed potatoes onto warmed plates and rest the sausages alongside.
12. Pour over some of the gravy and serve with a good spoonful of English mustard.

Reviews

[Peter J]

Awesome! The star anise and caramelised onions gave a wonderful aroma and it all came together perfectly. The long vigourous cooking of the gravy is a little different to how I've normally made gravy in the past but really releases the flavours of the bay leaves, cloves and star anise.

[Papa D]

Excellent dish!!!! Wonderful flavor!!! My local store doesn't carry star anise, but other than that I followed the recipe as written. I will be making this again and hopefully can find the star anise at my Asian market.

[lazyme]

Simple and tasty! The ale, star anise and cloves filled the kitchen with a wonderful aroma while the gravy was cooking. Very good comfort food. Thanks English Rose. Made for ZWT3.