Pub Food: Bangers and Mash

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day this week, I'd like to share one of my favorite pub foods: bangers and mash. I've traveled several times to England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, and it never fails that I eat this dish every time I go. Basically just sausages with mashed potatoes and a rich gravy, it's always filling and warming on those chilly, wet days on the Isles. I never really thought to make them at home until I ran across the Gastronomer's Guide's version. I adapted this recipe slightly and used Marksbury Farm's fresh bratwurst sausages--it was definitely a hit in my household and definitely easy to make on a cold, wet weekday in Kentucky!

I'm also entering this into The Daily Spud's Paddy's Day Food Parade--go check out the roundup of other Irish-related food on St. Patrick's Day!

Bangers and Mash
adapted from Gastronomer's Guide
Serves 4

For the mash:
2 lbs. of yellow potatoes (Yukon Gold, etc.), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2-4 Tbl butter
1/2-1 cup heavy cream (You can substitute milk or half and half here if you'd like.)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the bangers:
4-8 bratwurst sausages (depending on size of sausage and appetite of the eaters)
1 Tbl olive oil

For the gravy:
1 Tbl olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups beef broth, preferably homemade, but if store-bought, get the low-sodium.
1/4 tsp ground dried thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 Tbl butter
1 Tbl flour
Salt and pepper to taste

To make the mashed potatoes, place the cubed potatoes in cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and put them back into the pot. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 cup of the cream and a little salt and pepper. Mash with a hand masher. Add more cream if the potatoes seem dry. Mash until desired consistency. (I like them a little lumpy, but feel free to mash all of those lumps out!) Taste, and add salt, pepper, or butter to taste.

While the potatoes cook, make the sausages. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan and sear the sausages until browned on all sides. Remove the sausages to a plate.

To make the gravy, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan if there isn't much left from searing the sausages. Add the shallots, and cook, stirring often until they are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape off the bits left on the bottom of the pan. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the sausages back into the pan, turn down the heat, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or until the sausages are cooked through, turning once or twice if the sausages aren't completely covered by liquid.

When the sausages are done, remove them to a plate. Increase the heat on the pan and reduce the sauce by about one third. Mix the butter and the flour in a bowl with a fork until smooth. Add to the sauce to thicken, whisking constantly. Continue to cook for a few minutes until it reaches your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the sausages to the pan to rewarm.

Serve the sausages and gravy over the mashed potatoes.

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