Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Crumpet club and sausage and mash

Two good friends and I decided after a bottle of wine or two a few weeks ago, that we would like to watch season 1 of Downton Abbey. And where better than at the Cottagers wife's cottage in Gibsons BC. We decided not only were we going to watch this critically acclaimed  English TV series, we were going to eat English food all weekend. Cottagers wife.  dubbed us the Crumpet Club, though in fact we did not have any crumpets, but maybe during season 2!

We decided, having found some good looking home made "English Bangers" at the local IGA that we would have bangers and mash for dinner on Friday


We considered Toad in the Hole (sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding), but I was warned that the stove might be a little uneven so bangers and mash it would have to be.  One of the most important parts of this dish is a good tasty gravy, as well as a decent sausage and of course creamy mashed potatoes loaded with butter.

Sausage and Gravy

4 sausages (only one each but we ate 4 meals that day)
1 onion sliced
2 cups of beef stock
1 tablespoon of flour mixed with a 1/4 cup of cold water.

Prick the sausages all over to stop them from bursting then put into a non stick frying pan and then turn on the heat so that the sausage will give up some of its fat as it warms up.  When the pan is heated up and the sausages are sizzling add the onion.




You should not need to add any more oil as the sausage should have enough.  Cook on medium low until the sausages are cooked through and the onions are golden brown.  Remove the sausage and keep warm in the oven while you make the gravy.  Add the beef stock to the onions in the frying pan.


Bring to the boil and simmer until it has concentrated down and is full of flavour. Pull it off the heat and add the flour and water stir in and put back on the heat and cook until it has thickened up and flour is cooked.

Serve with a really creamy buttery mashed potatoes and a good dark green vegetable such as peas or as in this case kale.  In England I would have used Spring greens at this time of year, but unfortunately these are not available in Canada so kale was the closest I could get.


This a long with a good French red wine fortified us for the last 3 hours of Downton Abbey.

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