Bangers & Mash with Summer Squash & Onion Gravy

I am re-reading The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and I absolutely love them. Its historical fiction focusing on a Scottish hero in the 17-1800's and its amazing. The books are about 1,000 pages long and they are full of rich Scottish, English and American history. They talk a lot about the food they eat and I was salivating one night while they were eating bangers and mash. I am not super familiar with English food and I have never eaten bangers and mash. I did some research and its pan seared sausage, usually pork served with mashed potatoes and a pan gravy, stick to your ribs, comfort food at its best. I chose to use a locally made jalapeno and cheddar pork sausage, its spicy and creamy inside and when pan seared, probably the most amazing combination ever. Local new potatoes, which are red skinned and wonderfully creamy make the most homey mashed potatoes ever. I don't bother peeling them I just boil and mash with milk, some sharp gouda cheese and lots of butter and sea salt. I am not a great gravy maker, pan gravy is one of the easiest sauces to make, you pour in some liquid after browning your meat and veggies, make a roux and season, voila you have gravy! I chose to use spring onions and "golden egg" summer squash in the gravy. I browned them in the meat drippings and they added a wonderful, fresh flavor to the dish. I would have to say that this is now my most favorite comfort food dish, it was amazing. Make up a large batch and freeze, super easy to warm up on a weeknight when you don't feel like cooking.

This recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients

2-4 Large, pasture raised, pork sausage links, mine were jalapeno cheddar.

2 Tbsp pasture raised bacon fat, butter or olive oil can be used.

1/3 Cup pasture raised or organic beef stock, preferably homemade.

6 Large, organic new potatoes, chopped, any potato can be used.

1/2 Cup gouda, mine was young and sharp.

2 Tbsp pasture raised butter

1/4 Cup pasture raised whole milk

2 Organic "golden egg" squash, sliced, summer squash or zucchini can be used.

1 Large or 2 medium organic spring onions, sliced.

2 Cloves organic garlic, minced or grated.

1 Cup pasture raised or organic beef stock, preferably homemade.

1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar

1 fresh, organic bay leaf

1 Tbsp pasture raised butter, room temp.

1 Tbsp unbleached, organic all purpose flour

Sea salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste.

Directions

Put the potatoes in a large pot filled with cold water to boil. Cook till they are fork tender. While they are cooking heat milk and butter in a small sauce pan, just till warm. Put gouda, milk, butter and cooked potatoes in a large bowl and mash to your desired consistency, I like mine very lumpy, taste for salt and pepper and season to taste. Cover and place over a pot of simmering water to keep them warm, stir every once in a while.

In a large saute pan, over medium high heat place the 1/3 cup of beef stock and braise the sausages till the stock has cooked off, about 7 minutes. Add in the bacon fat and sear the sausages on all sides, to a deep brown. Add in more bacon fat if needed and the onions, squash and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and saute till the vegetables are soft and slightly browned. Remove the sausage and add in the rest of the beef stock, balsamic vinegar and the bay leaf. Cook for a few minutes to reduce, about 4 minutes. Stir together the room temperature butter and the flour till it looks like a paste. Add this to the saute pan and whisk till it thickens. Remove immediately from the heat, if its too thick add water or more beef stock to thin it out. Taste for seasoning and salt and pepper as needed.

To serve: put down a bed of mashed potatoes, top with gravy. Slice your sausage on a diagonal and place on top of the mashers and gravy, top with more gravy if you feel so inclined! Enjoy with an ice cold dark beer or nice red wine!