Aah! Bisto gravy is typically my go-to when it comes to making a tasty and simple jug of gravy.
All it involves is adding hot water to gravy granules, giving it a good stir, and it’s ready.
Now, however, I was ready to give onion gravy a try, and I had the ideal meal to try it on – bangers and mash.
This classic British dish is better served on cooler evenings but, by the time I made the meal, it was pretty late and feeling cool in my place anyway.
I found the original recipe on BBC’s Good Food – bangers and mash with onion gravy – but here’s how I did it.
Bangers and mash with onion gravy
- Cooks in: 50 minutes
- Serves: four people
Ingredients
- One tbsp sunflower oil
- Eight pork sausages
- Small knob of butter
- Three small onions, finely sliced
- One thyme sprig
- One bay leaf
- Pinch of sugar
- One heaped tsp plain flour
- One tbsp red wine vinegar
- One glass red wine
- One tsp soy sauce
- 400ml beef stock made with one stock cube
For the mash
- One kg King Edward potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 100ml whole milk
- 50g cold butter, diced
- Grating of nutmeg
Heating up the oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat on the stove, I proceeded to brown the sausages (takes about nine minutes). While the sausages were sizzling, I turned on the oven to 200C (180C fan/gas six).
Once the sausages were browned, I put them onto a plate to the side, then put the butter and onions in the frying pan.
Stirring the melting butter and onions together, I added the thyme, bay and a pinch of sugar. Once mixed together, I transferred it into a roasting tin and added the sausage (and its juices) on top, then placed it in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
While the sausages are cooking in the oven, I peeled and chopped potatoes and boiled the kettle. With the chopped potatoes now in a saucepan, I poured over the boiled water and added a pinch of salt.
Making sure the lid was slightly off of the saucepan with the potatoes in them, I put the stove top on a medium-high heat.
Once the potatoes were easy to put a knife through (which took about 11 minutes), I drained them in a colander, and tipped them back in the saucepan.
I then added milk and butter to the potatoes and made mash using a masher (although a rice masher is recommended on the original recipe).
Making the onion gravy
Once the sausages were cooked, I turned off the oven and put them back on the plate to the side while I poured the onion mixture back into the frying pan. To keep the sausages warm while I make the onion gravy, I put them back in the roasting tin in the oven.
Heating the frying pan again, once the onions were sticky (only takes about a minute), I added the flour, mixed together, then splashed in the red wine vinegar.
Once simmered for a moment, while the kettle was boiling again, I poured in the red wine and soy sauce and then bubbled it down until it was a goopy-like paste
Making stock with a beef cube and boiling water, I added the mixed stock to the frying pan. Boiling the onion gravy for about three minutes, it was now ready to serve – and, I must say, it tasted as good as gravy served in a posh restaurant.
Putting it all together, I had smooth mash, tasty sausages and a luxurious gravy dressing.