ONE-TRAY SAUSAGE & MASH

A fuss-free way to make sausages, mash and gravy in one tray and no saucepans. Oven-baking the potatoes results in very fluffy, creamy mash.

You could speed this up by microwaving the potatoes to start their cooking process. Blast them on full power for 10 minutes, turning them once halfway through, and omit the first 50 minutes cooking time.

SERVES 4

PREP TIME: 15 MINS COOK TIME: 1 3/4 HOURS

1kg large white baking potatoes

8–12 pork sausages, depending on their size and your hunger

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 onions, very finely sliced

a knob of butter

a splash of milk

2 teaspoons plain flour

250ml red wine

1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard

3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

400–600ml good-quality beef or chicken stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork. Place in the oven, directly on the oven shelf or rack, and bake for 50 minutes.

When the potatoes have been cooking for 50 minutes in the oven (or had 10 minutes in the microwave), prick the sausages once or twice with a fork. Choose a large oven tray with high sides and grease it with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the onions and then the sausages, then pour the remaining oil over, plus some salt and pepper. Toss, then spread the onions out in a thin layer with the sausages on top. Bake for 40 minutes, turning the onions and sausages twice. (Check the onions at the edge aren’t burning.)

After the 40 minutes (so the potatoes have had 90 minutes in the oven), remove the potatoes and check for done-ness by inserting a sharp knife – it should meet no resistance. (If they need longer, return them to the oven for 10–15 minutes.) When cooked, halve the potatoes, scrape out the insides and mash with the butter, milk and salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.

The sausages and potatoes should be ready at about the same time. When the sausages are brown all over and the onions are sticky, soft and brown, add the flour, wine, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce to the pan with enough stock to make a loose sauce. Mix well, then put the pan back into the oven for 10–15 minutes to reduce the gravy and bubble off the wine. (Keep an eye on the liquid levels and top up with more stock if it reduces too fast.)

Serve the sausages resting on the warm, creamy mash, with the onion gravy poured on top.

TIP

You can save the potato skins and crisp them up in the oven with a little salt and pepper – serve them as a snack, loaded with cream cheese and chopped chives.

Recipe from Leon: Happy One Pot Cooking