Settle down to eat an all time favourite — with a new twist

BANGERS and Mash. One of my all time favourite dinners when I was a child, and still one of my go-to suppers as the cold weather sets in.

There’s not much to beat coming home to a plateful of fluffy mash topped with sausages and gravy, as the days get shorter and there’s a chilly drizzle in the air.

I’m giving that classic supper of my childhood a new slant, with seasonal ingredients and a slightly different serving suggestion... I’ve already seen little baby squash of all varieties in store at Aldi. Lovely dark green ones, bright orange ones and yellow with greens flecks, to name a few of the colours. They make a striking visual centrepiece for the dining table or mantelpiece, as Halloween approaches. But they also taste great, so grab yourself one to use for this recipe.

My twist on traditional bangers and mash uses mashed squash and cooked cabbage in a bubble and squeak style side dish to replace the mashed potatoes. Very autumnal and seasonal, but just as delicious as the trad way of doing it. Hugely satisfying as a comforting family supper, any day of the week, topped with designer sausages and this creamy wholegrain mustard sauce.

And if there was such a thing as having your chums round for a kitchen table dinner party of a weekend evening, this is also smart enough to serve up then. So it’s one to save up for the post Covid level 3 lockdown we are currently in, which hopefully wont last too long. Keep this in the mental repertoire for the next time you can invite friends for a meal and a few glasses of wine again.

BANGERS AND SQUASH SQUEAK

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Knob of butter 

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded and in small chunks 

100mls chicken or vegetable stock 

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

150g cooked cabbage, chopped 

Good knob of butter, plus extra for mashing 

For the sausages:

Olive oil for frying 

12 best quality sausages of choice 

1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and chopped 

12 baby plum tomatoes, halved 

125mls chicken stock

75mls cream

 2 tsp wholegrain mustard Few whole sage leaves 

Method:

• Heat butter with oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the squash chunks. Stir over medium heat till starting to soften. Add stock, season and cover with a lid.
• Cook gently till soft. Watch the liquid levels so it doesn’t burn dry and add a splash more stock if necessary.
• While squash is cooking, melt a knob of butter in a pan and add the cabbage. Stir over cabbage over medium heat, stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn.
• When squash is tender, mash with a knob of butter and seasoning. Add to the cabbage in frying pan and stir together to mix and heat thoroughly. Season.
• Reserve the squeak, keeping hot.
• Heat oil in heavy bottomed frying pan and cook the sausages till browned on all sides.
• Add the spring onions and tomatoes and continue cooking till the sausages are cooked through.
• Pour in the stock and cream. Stir in the mustard. Bring to bubbling.
• Season and add the sage.
• Serve spoonfuls of squash squeak on warmed plates with the sausages on top. Spoon the sauce and veggies over.