Bangers with smoky mash & gravy

“This soup is delicious darling, is there blue cheese in it?”Jamie asks through a mouthful of bread roll.
“Err no” I say dipping my bread into the soup and taking a big bite. That’s when it hits me, the unmistakable flavour of blue cheese. But there’s no blue cheese in this soup?! I take a couple more mouthfuls and suddenly there isn’t anything blue cheesy about it. How odd, I think and gaze over at Jamie who is already halfway through his unperturbed. I brush it off and commence eating my dinner only to taste the phantom blue cheese taste.
“What the hell is that?!” I splutter and drop my piece of buttered bread onto my plate. It’s only then I realise. Do I tell Jamie? I glance over at him, his eyes glued to the television, blissfuly unaware, his bread roll long gone.
I take my soup into the kitchen and swiftly throw my roll in the bin.
“What you doing?” I hear Jamie call from the sofa.
“Oh nothing” I say calmly, “just getting some salt.”
Did you know that when butter turns rancid, it tastes like blue cheese? I do. Perhaps we should keep our butter in the fridge from now on.

But what does all this have to do with bangers and mash I hear you cry? Absolutely nothing. Just a gentle reminder not to eat rancid butter. Anyway, enough about butter, lets talk sausages, veggie sausages. I did contemplate (for about half a second) on making my own sausages but why on earth would I do that? Life is too short. The time it takes to make rubbish veggie sausages could be better spent on making deliciously cheesy mash and homemade gravy. So lets snuggle up with a bowl of mash potato and let it give us a big sloppy cuddle. Ew… you know what I mean.

Bangers with smoky mash & gravy
Serves 4 / Hands on time 40 mins / Takes 55 mins / V
8 vegetarian sausages, I used Quorn
Onion Gravy
2 large onions, sliced
Large knob of butter
Sprig of thyme, leaves picked
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbs plain flour
1 tsp Marmite
1 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
500ml vegetable stock, I use one Knorr stock pot
Mash
800g potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 knob of butter
100ml semi-skimmed milk
Salt and pepper
30g finely grated smoked cheddar
5 handfuls of kale steamed to serve (optional)

Method
1. To make the gravy, sweat the sliced onions in the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat for 5 minutes (If the onions start looking a little brown add a tbs of water to help them steam). Put the lid on a jar, turn down the heat and sweat for a further 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, fill a kettle with water for the mash. Peel and roughly chop the potatoes and place in a large saucepan with a generous pinch of salt. Cover in the boiling water and bring to a boil before turning the heat down to a simmer until soft.
3. By now the onions should be softened, stir in the flour and the mustard and cook for a minute before adding the stock. Give it a good stir with a whisk, making sure to work out any flour lumps. Add the Marmite, Worcestershire sauce and thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer on a low heat.
4. Cook the sausages according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, carefully slide them into the simmering gravy. Cover with a lid and turn off the heat.
5. By now the potatoes should be lovely and soft. Drain and give them a brief shake before returning to the saucepan. Add the butter, milk and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Give it a good mash and then add the grated smoked cheese. Continue mashing until you have a smooth but firm mash.
6. Divide the mash onto plates and top with gravy and the sausages. Serve with steamed kale.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.