Bangers and Mash

Writing and cooking from: Pittsburgh, PA

Winter is the time of year for comfort food. Warm, creamy meals with gravy. Beef stew. Hearty bean soup. My Mom's chicken and dumplings. Mashed potatoes.

Bangers (or sausages) and mash are a traditional English comfort food.  It's an inexpensive and easy working class dish revived in modern English pubs.

I made this last Friday night because it was simple but heartwarming.  After a long week, my boyfriend and I were definitely ready for some comfort food and this fit the bill.

It's easily adaptable, make it with your own mashed potato recipe and your favorite gravy. I made my mashed potatoes like my Mom does, whipped up with just a bit of milk. I won't share the recipe here because this was my first time making my own mashed potatoes and I put in too much milk. They came out okay, I was happy to eat the leftovers with yesterday's roast, but there are better versions to come I'm sure. I will share the rest of the instructions for making this though.

Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy

Mashed potatoes, prepared how you like
1-2 sausages per person, preferably traditional English bangers (I couldn't find them so used sweet Italian pork sausages)
2 T butter
1 small sweet onion, chopped fine
3-4 T flour
2 cups milk

Prepare the mashed potatoes your favorite way while cooking the sausages and gravy. The potatoes should cook in a similar amount of time to the sausages.

Cook the sausages (or bangers) in a large skillet. It will take about 20-25 minutes for them to brown and cook through. When they're done, remove the sausages from the skillet and set aside in a covered dish to keep warm. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet with the fat and juices from the sausage. Add the onions and saute until soft. Stir in the flour 1 tablespoon at the time and cook into a roux with the fats. Add the milk a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Allow the gravy to simmer, still stirring, until desired thickness is reached. Serve the gravy over the mashed potatoes and sausages. Enjoy!

Ingredients come from:
Potatoes, Penn's Corner CSA
Italian pork sausage, Whole Foods
Butter, Horizon Organics
Sweet onion, Penn's Corner CSA
Flour, generic, not organic
Milk, Turner's Dairy, Penn Hills, PA