Starting the Year Off with Bangers and Mash

Name: Bangers and Mash
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 6 uncooked chicken or pork sausages (your choice of flavor, should pair well with the rest of the flavors); 3 large sweet potatoes (peeled and diced. ); 3 Tbsp. olive oil; Salt and pepper (to taste); 3 Tbsp. olive oil; 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1 cup leeks (chopped and cleaned); 1 cup mushrooms (sliced); 3 Tbsp. flour; 1/4 tsp. white pepper; 1/4 tsp. garlic powder; 1/2 to 1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce; 1 cup beef stock or 1 beef bouillon cube; 3/4 to 1 cup milk (to desired thickness); 1 Tbsp. fresh basil (chopped); 1 tsp. fresh rosemary (chopped); 1 tsp. fresh thyme (chopped)

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It’s time for the first new recipe of the year.

2017 is all about finding the BETTER YOU or in my case, BETTER ME. So I’m starting us off with a bang. It’s time for Bangers and Mash!

If you’re getting a good chuckle over my excitement about Bangers and Mash, I’m okay with that. Laughter is good for the soul.

Trying my first Bangers and Mash in England was exciting. There’s something about trying a dish in its native setting that just makes it tastier.

Bangers and Mash are the quintessential English dish. As are English Pies, English breakfast, Chicken Tikka Masala and Sunday Roast.

Those sausages plopped in a pile of mashed potatoes and drenched in gravy are so DELICIOUS.

The only real problem with Bangers and Mash is the amounts of fat, calories and salts.

BUT giving the dish a makeover wasn’t hard. I just found ways to cut the fat and made healthier ingredient choices.

The Sausage

A well-seasoned pork sausage is so tasty. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. The real problem is the amount of fat.

There are three ways to reduce the fat:

Switching to chicken or turkey sausage will often cut the fat by half.
Using smaller pork sausages.
Making cuts elsewhere in the dish.

The Mash

Most mashes use russet potatoes.

Russets are tasty but heavy on the starch. Instead of using russets, Yukon Golds, red potatoes or sweet potatoes make wonderful mashes. Leave the skin on the regular potatoes because they add flavor and lots of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Other vegetables such as turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, cauliflower and winter squash also make excellent mashes.

Use a single type of potato or vegetable or a mixture for the perfect mash.

Another easy change for making mashes healthier is to get rid of the butter.

Instead use healthy oils such as olive or sunflower oil. In fact, sunflower oil tastes almost like butter when used in a mash.

Just don’t overuse the oils. Help make your mash creamy using milk or stock along with the oils.

The Gravy

Get rid of the cream and butter.

You don’t need them.

Use instead healthy oils and roux to thicken the milk.

I also use the gravy as an excuse to sneak in a few extra vegetables such as leeks, mushrooms and kale.

These simple changes keep the spirit of Bangers and Mash without losing any flavor.

Hubby loves this made-over version of Bangers and Mash. Normally, not a fan of sweet potatoes, he loves a sweet potato mash or parsnip turnip mash in this dish.

So start your 2017 out with a bang. Join me in cooking up a batch of Bangers and Mash and start finding the BETTER YOU.

Bangers and Mash

heidi medina

A deliciously lightened version of the traditional English Bangers and Mash: your choice of flavored sausages plopped on a bed of sweet potato mash and covered with a Mushroom and Leek Herb Gravy.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings 6

Ingredients

Bangers (Sausages)

6 uncooked chicken or pork sausages your choice of flavor, should pair well with the rest of the flavors

Sweet Potato Mash

3 large sweet potatoes peeled and diced.
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mushroom and Leek Herb Gravy

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup leeks chopped and cleaned
1 cup mushrooms sliced
3 Tbsp. flour
¼ tsp. white pepper
¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ to 1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 cup beef stock or 1 beef bouillon cube
¾ to 1 cup milk to desired thickness
1 Tbsp. fresh basil chopped
1 tsp. fresh rosemary chopped
1 tsp. fresh thyme chopped

Instructions

Bangers (Sausages)

Cook sausages by grilling or pan cooking over medium-low heat until done. Cooking time depends on the type of sausages you use: Chicken will average 15 to 20 minutes; Pork 20 to 30 minutes.

Sweet Potato Mash

Place peeled and diced sweet potatoes in a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook potatoes until soft. Do not overcook or they become soggy.
Using a colander, drain sweet potatoes. Do not reserve water.
Return potatoes to the pot and mash until smooth using a potato masher or fork.
Pour in olive oil, mix well and season with salt and pepper. Adjust taste as needed.

Mushroom and Leek Herb Gravy

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and mushrooms, sautéing gently until softened before adding minced garlic.
Add white pepper, garlic powder and flour. Stir flour constantly, cooking for about two minutes.
Slowly start pouring in beef stock and milk, stirring constantly to keep lumping from forming. Continue to stir constantly, bringing gravy to a simmer. Continue to simmer and cook until gravy reaches desired thickness.
Add fresh basil, rosemary and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Remove gravy from the heat and use immediately.