Middle Class Mash

The recent week consisted of an early get up, working very hard, arriving home, having tea, bed and repeat the process throughout the week. However it was one of those weeks where I felt positive and like I was making good things happen.

I was shattered by the time I got home on Friday and the weather had changed after the surprise heatwave that squeezed into the listed building that is my workplace during the working week. It was a lot fresher and the high winds and heavy rain made me start to think of kicking the falling leaves around as Autumn approached.

As a result of this something fortifying and hot was needed that evening. I had a pack of sausages that had been defrosting during the day that were purchased for, but not used in the end, my birthday party that had happened the previous month.

I made Bangers and Mash but decided to put a sophisticated twist on it by making the mash with potatoes, parsnips, rocket and carrots. I also decided on a different flavouring for the gravy.

The evening's music for the cooking process was something new in the shape of Blur's third (and best) album 1994's Parklife. When I say new I mean new for me as I had bought it second hand the previous month, as most people of my generation either own a copy or have heard it a lot as it was a key record of our school years together with the two Stone Roses albums, Suede, early Radiohead and Oasis amongst others. Blur are a band that polarise people as you either love or hate singer Damon Albarn's nagging southern drawl and sardonic lyricism. Still there's no denying the quality on this record with the great singles like the title track sandwiched between the Kinks soundalike "Tracy Jacks" amongst others while "This is a Low" tries to turn the thorny subject of depression into something anthemic.

The first job was to peel three potatoes and top and tail three carrots and two parsnips. I then sliced all these fairly thinly and steamed them for around thirty minutes.

While the vegetables were steaming I put the sausages under the grill on a medium heat and turned them regularly during the twenty-five minutes I cooked them for. I found the best tactic was to first pierce a hole in each of them before the grilling commenced as that way the fat didn't spit out of them and turning them regularly ensure they cooked very evenly on each side.

While the sausages and vegetables were cooking I gently fried a sliced up white onion with ten leaves of purple sage from my garden in my Le Cresceut in sunflower oil with some black pepper and did so for 15 minutes with the lid on the Le Cresceut. I made sure to stir the onions regularly to stop them sticking to the bottom of the dish.

Next I took a quarter of a pint of Old Golden Hen real bitter, but any blonde or mild ale will do, and poured it into the Le Cresceut. I stirred the booze in until it thickened the mixture and then added a quarter of a pint of vegetable stock. I left this then to stew steadily while the sausages and the vegetables finished cooking.

When the vegetables were done I mashed them with some margarine and make the dish a bit more interesting I added ten ounces of washed rocket leaves and stirred them in as well with a hint of real bitter.

The taste of this one made it feel like a deserved reward after slugging it out successfully during the week. The sausages were crisp but not overdone while the gravy added a pleasant charcoal taste that was in keeping with the dish and the mash mixture tasted of fortifying winter meals while the fresh rocket reminded me that summer was not over just yet...

One for the album, the crisp sausages go well with the alcoholic gravy and unusual mash mixture.