This Little Pig loves summer.
However, summer’s dark brother, winter, also has a place in this fine swine’s heart thanks to its stormy nights, ugh boots, wood fires, large bowls of pasta, sploshing in puddles, green gardens, amazing sunsets and of course…bangers and mash.
This recipe is such a great winter meal. It’s fabulous for when you have people coming over, as you can make it before hand and then reheat when you sit down to eat, it’s quick to make and it’s so bloody delicious that there will groans of delight around the table.
The only thing to note here is that it is very important to take the time to go to a great local butcher (This Little Pig thinks you should try to support these little local businesses as much as possible, so here’s a great excuse) to purchase your sausages, because the sausages are really the hero of this dish. Frank Torre on Bulwer St has amaaaazing sausages FYI.
Now that you've got your sausages sorted, the rest of the meal is just it’s backup dancers – but what amazing backup dancers, the mash is silky, the mushroom gravy is fantastic and well look, just roll up your cashmere jumper sleeves and tuck into this beeeoooootiful winter feast, there won’t be a single moment of regret.
Serves: 2 Hungry Piglets
Prep Time: 10 Mins.
Cooking Time: 20 Mins.
Ingredients:
- 4-6 x Excellent fat & delicious sausages (pork and fennel or Italian are particularly perfect)
- 5 x large Ruby Lou potatoes (the pink ones)
- 2 x Garlic Cloves
- 1 x Red Onion
- 350g x Mushrooms
- 2 x Tbs Gravy Powder
- 1 x Tsp Gourmet Stock Powder (or chicken stock powder)
- 20g x Fresh Dill
- 1 x Broccolini Bunch
- 1 x Lemon
- Scrunch or two of Pepper
Method of Madness:
- Chop your potatoes (5) into small cubes (no need to peel – nobody has time for that)
- Place your potato cubes and gourmet stock (1 Tsp) in a large pot and fill with water.
- Bring to the boil and allow to bubble away until the potatoes are soft.
- Take off the heat and leave them sitting in the water until ready to serve at the end.
- Finely slice your mushrooms (350g).
- Chop the bottoms off your broccolini bunch (1) and chop into bite sized chunks.
- Pop your broccolini into a tupperware with a splosh of water and pop the lid on.
- Slice your red onion into thin wagon wheels (this is tricky, try not to lop off a trotter whilst cutting this roll-ey object).
- Peel and verrrrry finely dice one garlic clove (for the mash) and peel and roughly dice your other garlic clove (for the gravy), keep the two cloves separate – they are not friends or even close acquaintances.
- Finely dice your dill (don’t be a dill, chop off his stems and discard).
- Now take a large fry pan and drop your sausages into the cold pan, cook on a medium-high heat (you may need a tiny splash of olive oil) until golden on both sides and cooked through. Keep popping the lid of the frypan on in between turns to help the sausages cook without the frypan becoming a charcoal abyss.
- When the sausages are almost cooked, add in your mushroom, garlic (the roughly diced one only) & onion and if need be a splosh of water to help soften the veg.
- Once the sausages are cooked, take them out and place them in a bowl covered with a plate to rest and relax.
- Continue to cook the onion, garlic and mushrooms until they are soft and turning golden. You may need to add a little water to get the goodness off the pan and help the veg soften.
- Once the veg is cooked, scatter into the veg, your gravy powder (2 Tbs) and pour in around 1 ½ - 2 cups of water.
- Make sure all the lumps of gravy powder are mixed in and then allow it all to bubble away until the gravy becomes thickened. If it’s not thickening to your likening, add just a scattering more of gravy powder. Alternatively, if it is too thick, add a little more water. Leave to bubble away on low – you can add the sausages into the gravy pan at this stage, to warm them back up.
- Once you are ready to serve, *MAKING SURE TO RESERVE ONE CUP OF THE STOCK WATER*, drain your potatoes.
- *Handy tip, This Little Pig has trouble sometimes remembering to save some stock water as it gets a bit excited and just sloshes it all into the colander, so it has now started putting a cup in the sink as well as the colander. This fine swine then fills the cup with stock water first and then drains the potatoes into the colander afterwards. Thus ensuring that there is never any forgotten stock saving.
- Pop your drained potatoes back into the pot and add in your finely diced garlic clove, dill & ¼ of a cup of the stock water. Take your potato masher and mash away and add little splashes of stock water, as need be, until it becomes a lovely silky mash.
- Place your broccolini Tupperware into the microwave and cook on high for 2 mins or until bright green and lightly crunchy still (you can also blanch in boiling water if you prefer).
- Serve your cooked broccolini into a nice bright coloured bowl, squeeze a bit of your lemon over the top and finish with a scrunch of pepper.
- Dollop out your silky mash and top with some delicious sausages.
- Ladle out your glorious gravy all over the top and then finish with a big scrunch of pepper and a side of your lemon broccolini.
- Now dive into that wintery bowl of amazingness piglet.
