Sausage and Mash with Beer & Onion Gravy

Sausage and Mash with Beer & Onion Gravy

Comfort food at its best with a unique flavoured gravy of beer, star anise & cloves.

Serves 4

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients

12 good quality pork sausages

For the gravy

700g/1½lb onions, sliced thinly

pinch sugar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

25g/1oz butter

1 tsp plain flour

600ml/1 pint brown ale or a beer of your choice

600ml/1 pint fresh beef stock

½ star anise

2 cloves

2 fresh bay leaves

Drizzle of Balsamic vinegar

For the mashed potatoes

900g/2lb floury main crop potatoes,

peeled and cut into chunks

55g/2oz butter

2-3 tbsp milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper

English mustard to serve

Method

1.      To make the gravy, heat the oil and the butter in a large pan.  Add the onions and sugar and cook over a low heat for 30-45 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and richly caramelised.

2.      Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Then stir in the beer, beef stock, star anise, cloves and bay leaves and boil until the gravy reduces to a rich, glossy sauce - about 20 minutes.

3.      Add a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar, remove the star anise, bayleaves and cloves from the gravy and season to taste with some salt and pepper.

4.      For the sausages and mashed potato, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 minutes until soft.

5.      Then after about 10 minutes, heat the oil for the sausages in a large frying pan. Add the sausages and fry them over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, turning now and then, until nicely browned.

6.      Drain the potatoes and mash until smooth - a potato ricer does this really well.  Mix in the butter with some seasoning and enough milk to make a smooth, creamy mash.

7.      To serve spoon the mashed potatoes onto 4 plates and rest the sausages alongside. Pour over some of the gravy and serve with a good spoonful of English mustard.