By Angela Oliva
As an Italian, you might not believe it, but bangers and mash are one of my favourite dishes. A warm dish perfect on a chilly day, at home or in a pub with an ale. Therefore, this is the sort of thing I would go for in autumn…so why not give it an Asian twist?
Here is the recipe for two, which includes an extra touch using roasted asparagus and locally bought sausages. I think the choice of sausage is very important to make this combination work, so my suggestion is the chilli, lime and fennel seed pork sausages that I recently bought from Jacob’s Ladder Farm.
They run a meat stall at the Herne Hill farmers market and these sausages are just the right type for the spicy mash they go with! If you are not into pork they offer a good alternative of lamb sausages. I love that stall, as you can even make an order on their website during the week and then pick it up on a Sunday.
For the mash:
- 1 big sweet potato
- 1 big white potato or any other potato for mashing
- 1-2 fresh red chillies deseeded and chopped finely
- a handful of chopped coriander
- 1 lime
- olive oil to taste
- salt to tast
For the asparagus:
- a bunch of asparagus
- a splash of balsamic vinegar
- salt to taste
For the sausages:
- 6-10 sausages, depending on the size of your belly
To prepare the mash, peal and cube both the sweet and white potatoes, put themin a pan and boil with a pinch or two of sea salt (worth investing some money on proper salt, rather than boring table salt) until the potatoes are soft and ready to be mashed.
Whilst the potatoes are boiling put your sausages in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes on 180ºC.
Wash your asparagus, cut the hard bottom end off and whack them in an oven dish. Give a generous sprinkle of olive oil, add some balsamic vinegar and salt to taste. Now toss them with your hands. Put them in the oven for 8-10 minutes maximum depending on the size. Brixton and Herne Hill farmers markets both sell delicious asparagus in season, which are usually a fiver for two bunches.
Now you can drain the potatoes, put in a bowl and roughly mash with a masher. I like leaving the mash a bit chunky. Then squeeze in the juice of a lime, add the chopped chilli (or chillies) and coriander, sprinkle some olive oil and give it a good toss.
You are now ready to serve a generous dollop of the spicy mash accompanied by your sausages and roast asparagus. Also forget the ale if at home and go for a nice glass of chilled white wine to accompany!
