Steve and I grew up eating comfort foods like sausages, mashed potatoes, and peas – he in England
and yours truly in Newfoundland. Across the pond they call sausages bangers, and mashed potatoes
mash. No matter what you call this simple plate of peasant food, it’s awfully good and we thank our
guest, Shawn Silver, of iDance, for providing us with one of his favourite Irish recipes.
Ingredients
- 1½ lb (680 g) link sausages, fried and kept warm
- 8 large potatoes
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- ½ cup (125 ml) milk
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) butter
- ½ cup (125 ml) whipping cream
- salt and pepper
Guinness Gravy
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) raisins
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) brown sugar cooked meat juices
- 1½ cup (375 ml) of Guinness
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) flour
- chopped parsley
- salt and pepper
How to Make It
- Peel and cut potatoes into ½-inch (10 mm) pieces. Place potatoes in pot, along with garlic, and cover with water. Add milk. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for 20 minutes. When potatoes are done, strain off the liquid, reserving ¼ cup (60 ml) of liquid for later use.
- Mash potatoes and garlic with butter. Gradually stir in cream, thinning with reserved liquid as required. Season with salt and pepper.
- For gravy, combine raisins, brown sugar, and meat juices. Add Guinness, cover and simmer on low heat. Allow to reduce, stirring occasionally. Add flour until mixture thickens. Season to taste. Pour over Irish mashed potatoes. Serve with sausages.
