Excuse the terrible quality of this picture. This tumblr has certainly struck a nerve. I wasn't intending on blogging this very simple meal, but I enjoyed it so much that I felt I had to. That's how I roll. I'm not a professional you know.
Quanities are very approximate. Most people know how many sausages and potatoes are required per person. I don't, but I'm terrible at that sort of thing. Most of the ingredients were just what I had in the house, feel free to omit or subsitute at your leisure. It's sausages and mash like, it's not rocket science, or baking.
I divided this up into sections, instead of doing it in the order I cooked it, because it was easier and less confusing. There you go.
Bangers and mash with honey mustard roasted parsnips and onion gravy for 2 with leftovers
Olive oil
4 large parsnips
A squeeze of honey
1tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
3-4 sausages per person
1 large brown onion (I threw in 2 shallots too, don't bother unless you have them to hand)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of flour
400ml stock (I used beef this time, it's good and meaty)
About 4 large potatoes
1/3 of a mug of warmed milk
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
2 chopped spring onions
Plenty of black pepper
Parsnips
Firstly, chop the parsnips. You can parboil them for a couple of minutes if you like, I wouldn't bother. Put them in an oven dish large enough so they're not on top of each other. Drizzle with some oil, the honey and the mustard, and roast at 190 degrees for 45 minutes (less if you bothered par-boiling, even though I told you not to)
Sausages
IMMEDIATELY after this, heat some oil in a frying pan, and fry the sausages at THE VERY LOWEST HEAT your hob will allow. This will take forever. However long you think it will take, triple it. I like my sausages cooked for, at the very least, 40 minutes. This makes them sticky and renders the fat nicely. If you're cooking with fat sausages, it'll take even longer. Fat sausages are not approved of in our household, however, so I can't comment on cooking times. Towards the end, if everything else is getting cold, you can turn it up to a medium heat, but only to brown them so you don't pass out from hunger. This is the most important thing I will probably ever tell you.
Gravy
Chop the onion, and fry at in a saucepan at a very low heat with the garlic until it's tender and translucent. Coat with the flour and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the stock, and continue to cook at a low heat until it's reduced to a thick gravy.
Mash
Peel and boil your potatoes until they're tender. Drain, and then place back on the heat for a minute to dry them out a bit. Pour in the warm milk and creme fraiche, and start to mash. Mash and mash and mash until your arm falls off, it's totally worth it. Mix the chopped spring onions with the mash. Season if you want.
Pile everything on top of each other. Enjoy. Lovely on a cold winter night. Obviously I'm publishing this now that it's gotten warm again, but don't be fooled. You'll be shivering in a fortnight, and wishing you had this in front of you. But you won't because everyone's already running around London in SHORTS, and TFL are posting this sort of nonsense, so everyone has probably already died of hypothermia.
