Bangers & Mash is a classic British dish. It should be kept simple: sausages, mash and gravy. Done, that's all, no need to faff it up any more ...
... although we can.
High meat content sausages cook best in the oven, in my opinion, somewhere like 180C (350F?) for about 30 minutes, turned half way through and they'll come out coloured up and perfectly cooked through.
Do that ...
Meanwhile, peel and boil some potatoes and some butternut squash. This is the first deviation: butternut squash, which lends a real depth to the mash. You'll need about 30 minutes, so get on with it ... preparation, then about 20 minutes of boiling, drain, mash in butter and then using a spatula, really refine the mash. Some like to pass it through a sieve, but that's for restaurants.
You'll also want a gravy ...
I made up a simple gravy with a beef stock cube, poured over some portobello mushrooms sautéed in butter and some shredded onion. This is the second deviation: mushrooms. What they bring to the party is well worth having, and I bet restaurants will use them in their gravy but not serve them, which seems a real shame.
Cook that long and slow, reducing gently to concentrate the flavours ...
Ready to eat? Serve up!
Mash down first, mushrooms spooned over. Sausages on top, onions spooned over. Just poured carefully around the side.
Grab your diggers and get in there!
