The Hairy Bikers' ultimate comfort food sausage roll casserole
To give Phil and Holly a pick-me-up to get them through the rest of the day-after-the-night before, the Hairy Bikers are back in the kitchen as they whip up their sausage casserole.
Ultimate comfort food sausage roll casserole recipe
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
12 good-quality pork sausages
2 medium onions, chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and thinly sliced
3 carrots, thickly sliced
500ml India pale ale
150ml beef stock
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
1 bay leaf
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
2 medium leeks, trimmed and cut into 2cm slices
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp flaked sea salt, plus extra to season
Chopped parsley, to garnish
Black pepper
For the mash
1kg floury potatoes such as King Edwards or Maris Pipers
75ml single cream or milk
50g butter
Sea salt freshly ground white pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the sausages over a medium heat for 8–10 minutes. Turn them regularly until they’re nicely browned all over. Transfer the sausages to a large flameproof casserole dish.
Add the onions, celery and carrots to the frying pan – there should be enough fat from the sausages but add an extra splash of oil if you need to. Cook the veg over a medium-high heat, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes or until they are beginning to soften and lightly colour. Tip the vegetables into the dish with the sausages.
Pour the ale and stock into the casserole dish. Stir in the tomato purée, sugar, bay leaf and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover the dish with a lid and leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the leeks to the casserole dish and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix the cornflour with a tablespoon of cold water until smooth. Stir this into the casserole and cook for another 2–3 minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce has thickened.
Remove the pan from the heat, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving with mashed potatoes.
For the mash
Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Try to make sure the pieces are roughly the same size, so they cook evenly.
Put the potatoes in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling, turn down the heat and simmer the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft.
Warm the cream or milk in a separate pan and melt the butter. It really is worth doing this, as it will help keep the mash hot for longer.
When the potatoes are cooked, drain them well and tip them back into the pan
Mash them thoroughly, giving them a really good pummelling. Add the warm cream or milk and the butter and mix well, then season to taste. Serve as soon as possible.