Good Old Fashioned Onion Gravy

Old Fashioned Onion Gravy – perfect with mash!

There is nothing better than a good roast beef dinner or pretty much anything involving sausages and mashed potato that will not benefit from a fantastic home made onion gravy, of course you may be a veggie (in which case substitute the beef stock for vegetable stock) who likes a good onion gravy with roasted vegetables, whoever you are though, this recipe should see you right.

Those keen eyed foodies out there will most likely have already noticed that I have already added this recipe to my blog along with a rather tasty Toad in the Hole recipe, as they pretty much go hand in hand, but here it is again anyway for those of  you who just want it for another dish, or who don’t like toads or the holes in which they like to reside.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
• 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon plain flour (more if you want it thicker)
• 500ml beef stock
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Soften the onions with the tablespoon of oil in a large non stick frying pan on a medium/low heat for about 15 mins, stirring often, until they are golden brown.
2. Sprinkle in the sugar and cook for another 5 mins. Add a tablespoon of plain flour, then simmer, stirring constantly for 2 mins, so the onions are well coated and there is no dry flour left at all. Gradually pour in the stock a bit at a time, stirring well all the time to make a smooth sauce.
3. Turn the heat up a little and allow the gravy to bubble and thicken for 4-5 mins, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve in a warmed gravy boat with a yummy dish for some ultimate comfort!

Sausage & Chorizo Roll

Sausage & Chorizo Roll – perfect hot or cold!

This is a simple dish that tastes amazing when served up with some lovely roast vegetables and a nice red wine gravy.  It’s a take on the  classic british sausage roll with a touch of class to it, helped along by the chorizo, mushroom and apple stuffing.  Delicious hot or cold this is definitely one dish that will please everybody!

As always I have used a sweet smoked chorizo here, but if you like a kick, then feel free to use spicy if you prefer.  The mushrooms are fine if they are normal white ones, but chestnut are a little nicer in my opinion, if you want a really pungent mushroom flavour then consider using porcini mushrooms. As with any dish using sausages, make sure you have at least 70% pork in there. As for the cheese, well that’s up to you too, I use a smoked cheese, because I like the flavour, but that doesn’t mean you have to! Try different combinations and flavours until you find what you like!

Oh, one more thing, don’t waste time making pastry, shop bought puff pastry is just as good and far less time consuming!

INGREDIENTS

• Packet of puff pastry
• 250g pork sausage meat
• 100g chopped chorizo
• 100g chopped mushrooms
• 50g chopped apple
• 1 celery stick, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, chopped finely
• 1/2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
• 2-3 slices smoked cheese
• 5-7 sage leaves, chopped finely
• 1 egg, mixed
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 5.
2. In a large non stick frying pan heat the oil on a medium heat and add the celery and garlic, followed a minute later by the chorizo, Liquid Smoke, apple and mushrooms.  Stir every 30 seconds or so and add the sage leaves. Take off the heat after about 5 minutes, when everything is soft and well cooked and leave to one side.
3. Prepare your pastry – if it’s in a block, then roll it out until only 3-4mm thick and in a rectagular shape. If the pastry is ready rolled, all the better because you don’t have to do anything! Lay it out on a lightly floured work surface and move on to the next stage.
4. Take your packet of sausage meat and cut it in half. Take the first half and flatten it until it is a long rectangular shape, roughly 2-3 inches wide and 6-7 inches long. Place the sausage meat rectangle into the centre of the pastry.
5. Next take your fried mixture and spoon it generously on top of the sausage meat layer you just placed on the pastry. On top of this, lay all of your cheese followed by the other half of the sausage meat, in the same rectangle shape as the bottom piece. Then, brushing the edge with egg, fold the sides of the pastry up and over, making a sausage roll shape, press the far ends down firmly and place the whole thing, seam side down (so basically what WAS the top should now be the bottom) onto a greased baking tray before brushing all over with more egg mixture and slicing 3 or 4 times in the top to allow steam to escape during cooking.
6. Pop the tray into the oven and allow to bake for about 35-45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown all over. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thick slices and serving.

Toad In The Hole

Toad In The Hole – the ultimate British comfort food

Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned Toad in the Hole, cooked together with creamy mashed potato and a good onion gravy?  It’s the ultimate comfort food, admit it! In this recipe I use a herby yorkshire mix, and plain pork sausages, though you can easily leave out the mustard and herbs and if you want to use different sausages, that’s entirely up to you!  It is a good idea to check with your butcher when buying the sausages to ask what the pork content is, anything less than 70% is not a good sausage, if buying from a supermarket, it will tell you the amount of pork used in the sausage in the ingredients list on the back of the packet. I’ve also included my own recipe for a good onion gravy.

INGREDIENTS

• 285ml milk
• 115g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• ½ teaspoon mustard powder
• 3 thyme sprigs, leaves stripped and chopped
• 1 rosemary sprig, leaves stripped and chopped
• 8 pork sausages
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
• 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
• 500ml beef stock

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas Mark 7
2. Firstly make your yorkshire pudding batter by tipping the flour into a large mixing bowl and stirring in the mustard powder and a good pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre of the dry mixture and crack in the eggs and a dribble of the milk.
3. Stir with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating more and more of the flour, until you have a smooth batter in the well. Add more of the milk and continue stirring until all the milk and flour has been mixed together and is a smooth lump-free batter the consistency of double cream. Tip the batter back into the jug you had your milk in and stir in the chopped thyme and rosemary leaves before leaving to stand either in the fridge or in a cool place for 15 minutes.
4. Use a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the links between the sausages if there are any, then throw them into a 20 x 30cm roasting tin.  Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, shaking the tin and coating both the sausages and the base of the tin thoroughly, then roast in the oven for 15 mins.
5. When the sausages are nicely browned, remove the hot tray carefully from the oven, and quickly pour in the batter.  It will sizzle and bubble a little when it first hits the hot fat but that is exactly what we want here, if it doesn’t do it, then something isn’t right!  Put the tin back into the oven, and bake for 30-40 mins until the batter is cooked through, well risen, golden and crisp. If you poke the tip of a knife into the batter in the middle of the tray it should be set, not sticky or runny, if it is, pop it back in for a while with some tin foil over the top to prevent burning.
6. While the tin is in the oven use the time to make your gravy, to do this, soften the onions with the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large non stick frying pan on a medium/low heat for about 15 mins, stirring often, until they are golden brown.  Sprinkle in the sugar and cook for another 5 mins. Add a tablespoon of plain flour, then simmer, stirring constantly for 2 mins, so the onions are well coated and there is no dry flour left at all. Gradually pour in the stock a bit at a time, stirring well all the time to make a smooth sauce.
7. Turn the heat up a little and allow the gravy to bubble and thicken for 4-5 mins, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve everything together with some creamy mashed potato for some ultimate comfort!