Name: Sausage and mash with cider and apple gravy
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 8 pork sausages (about 450g); 2 tbsp rapeseed oil; 2 Cox apples, cored and each cut into 8 wedges; 3 onions, halved and thinly sliced; 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked; 1 tbsp plain flour; 300ml dry cider; 250ml hot chicken stock; 1 tsp cider vinegar; 1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled and cut into large chunks; 60g unsalted butter; 12 sage leaves; 100ml whole milk; 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Sausage and mash with cider and apple gravy

This sausage and mash recipe pairs pork bangers with roasted orchard fruit and mustardy potatoes, a homely supper to celebrate British produce this autumn.

Serves4

Hands-on35 min

Oven35 min

DifficultyEasy

Wedges of Cox apple roast in the same tin as the sausages, catching the fat and turning soft and caramelised before they are folded into a glossy cider and onion gravy. It is a fitting supper for British Food Fortnight, which the organisers, Love British Food, say runs from 26 September to 11 October this year: good pork from a local butcher, orchard fruit and a bottle of British cider.

Why it’s so good: Browning the butter with sage gives the mash a toasty, nutty depth, and the crisp leaves add crunch against the soft potato and rich meat.

Make it easy: Cook the onion gravy a day ahead and reheat it while the sausages roast.

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Put the sausages in a roasting tin about 30 x 20cm, toss with 1 tbsp of the oil and roast for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onions and thyme with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring now and then, for 20-25 minutes until soft, sticky and deep golden.

Turn the sausages, scatter the apple wedges around them and return to the oven for 18-20 minutes until the sausages are browned and cooked through, with no pink meat and the juices running clear, and the apples are tender and caramelised at the edges.

While the sausages roast, put the potatoes in a large pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until a knife slides in easily.

Stir the flour into the onions and cook for 1 minute. Gradually pour in the cider, stirring, and bubble for 2 minutes, then add the stock and simmer for 6-8 minutes until thickened to a pouring gravy. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat, add the sage and cook for 2-3 minutes, swirling, until the butter smells nutty, brown flecks appear and the leaves are crisp. Lift the sage onto kitchen paper.

Drain the potatoes and leave to steam dry in the colander for 2 minutes. Warm the milk in the empty pan, return the potatoes and mash until smooth. Beat in most of the brown butter and the mustard, then season to taste.

Tip the apples and any juices from the tin into the gravy and warm through. Spoon the mash onto plates, top with the sausages and gravy, drizzle over the remaining brown butter and finish with the crisp sage.

Per serving (Serves 4)

Calories

790kcals

Fat

45g (18g saturated)

Protein

25g

Carbohydrates

73g (15g sugars)

Fibre

Salt

2.5g

Quick wins, tips & make ahead

The gravy keeps, covered, in the fridge for up to 2 days and freezes for up to 3 months; defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot before adding the freshly roasted apples.

Bramley apples work in place of Cox but collapse more in the heat, thickening the gravy with a sharper edge. Swap the cider for apple juice and add an extra teaspoon of vinegar for an alcohol-free version.

For a vegetarian plate, use vegetarian sausages and vegetable stock, and check the packs for cooking times. Leftover mash makes good potato cakes: shape, dust in flour and fry until crisp and hot through.