Sausage Casserole

Yes finally a new post!
Here's a great comfort food dish for cold wet winter days. Try to get hold of some decent sausages for this one. This dish is based on an Allyson Gofton recipe and will serve four.



Sausage Casserole

8 sausages
1/2 a tablespoon of oil
4 rashers of bacon, diced
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of flour
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 cup of beef stock
1/2 a cup of red wine
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (or 1/2 a teaspoon of dried thyme)
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley (or 1/2 a teaspoon of dried parsley)
250 grams of mushrooms, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil to a medium heat in a frying pan and brown the sausages slowly, turning regularly to prevent the skins from bursting. Take the sausages out of the pan and set aside.
Add the bacon, onions and garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle in the flour and add the tomato paste, cook until frothy, stirring continuously.
Gradually stir in the beef stock and red wine, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens. Return the sausages to the pan, add the thyme and parsley, cover and simmer gently for 25-30 minutes. Add the mushrooms after 15 minutes and continue cooking. Taste and season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Julia's Pumpkin, Kumara and Potato Mash

Half a butternut pumpkin
2 medium potatoes
1 large kumara
A cup of hot milk or cream (we used Anchor long life lite cream)
Salt and pepper

Peel and dice the vegetables. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook until soft. Drain and return the vegetables to the pot. Break the vegetables up with a potato masher or pass through a potato ricer and then gradually add the hot milk while blending with your whiz stick. When you have the desired consistency, season and serve.