Day 4: Sausages braised in cider

Sausages braised in cider

recipe: Janine Ratcliffe

Olive Magazine, August 2009

According to the recipe, it should take 1 hour, 20minutes, serve 4, and is classed as 'easy'.

Ingredients

olive oil
8 sausages
2 onions, sliced
4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped (optional)
2tsp flour
350ml dry cider
1tsp mustard
1kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
150ml milk
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
butter 50g

Method

Heat a little oil in a frying pan with a lid. Brown the sausages then remove from the pan. Add the onions and bacon and cook for 15-20 minutes. Add the flour and stir until absorbed. Gradually add the cider then the mustard, and sir until dissolved. Bring to a simmer then add the sausages, put on a lid and cook for 45 minutes.

To make the champ, put the milk and spring onions in a pan and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the butter and leave to melt. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and mash with the milk mix. Serve with the sausages and gravy.

What it should look like...

Original photograph: Lis Parsons

What mine looked like...

The facts:

Easy enough to make, within the time, and gave 4 portions as described. I was in a hurry when browning the sausage and wish I'd taken the time to brown them all over for a little longer, just for the look and presentation. I completed all the first steps, then put everything together in the slow cooker on high for 3 hours, rather than let them simmer on the hob, as we were going out. I made the champ when we returned and, hey presto, a delicious meal ready!

Taste:

Really scrummy! The sauce was thick and sticky, and had permeated the sausages, making a complete dish. The mash was as I usually make it, and just as tasty, melting into the sauce. Just what we needed at the end of a hard day watching athletics and cricket, listening to V-Festival from the garden!