First off, I apologize for the radio silence over the weekend. I had the best intentions of writing up a post or two on either side of yesterday’s marathon, but, well, I’d forgotten how taxing marathons can be. So let me just say that Saturday night’s meal was a carb-loading feast at our local chili joint, and last night’s meal was a hastily put-together plate of nachos. Because the spirit was willing, but the body was weak!
Anyway, what better recovery meal on Post-Marathon Day One than vegetarian bangers and mash? LeeLee requested this dish a couple of weeks ago and it took me awhile to find vegetarian gravy (our Safeway never carries a veggie version, and Whole Foods seems to stock it only as the holidays loom large!), so this meal had to circle the airport until I was able to obtain all the ingredients. Mission accomplished by last week’s end, and so off we went this week into the wild English yonder!
I confess I’d never made bangers and mash before, so I had to consult the trusty Internet for ideas as to how to put it all together. I finally settled on a recipe from Allrecipes.com that piqued my interest, and I must say, it didn’t disappoint!
First, I peeled and diced some of our hand-picked potatoes and then set them to boil. As they boiled, I heated up four links of Field Roast apple-sage sausage in a small frying pan, and once they were nice and brown, I removed them and added in some diced onion. After the onion started turning translucent, I added some of that hard-won gravy in and let it thicken up – adding some pepper and garlic powder to taste, because I find that store-bought gravy often needs a little dressing-up!
By this point, the potatoes were ready to be drained and mashed, which I simply did with a potato masher. (Also, let me just take a moment to say how much I love that little potato masher, which is going on 15 years of service by this point! Bless it.) Then it was time to assemble the casserole – first a layer of gravy, then the four sausage links, then another layer of gravy, and finally a layer of mashed potatoes. Into the oven it went for 20 minutes at 350, and by the time it emerged, the potatoes were crispy on top and the meal was ready!
As the bangers and mash finished up, I steamed a bag of frozen peas and carrots to add as a side item, which turned out to be a great fit! They didn’t need any dressing up at all to be so fresh and tasty – a perfect accouterment to the main course.
The result? Success! LeeLee was thrilled to enjoy bangers and mash here at home, and I was pleased by how easy and quick this meal was to come together – especially today, when I didn’t have much extra energy (or leg power!) to spare. We’ll definitely make this one again!
:)