Karen Wright: Elevating the flavour of the simple but tasty sausage casserole
We have been spending as much time as possible at our caravan this summer and for the most part we have been enjoying fantastic weather. It does get very warm in the old 'tin box' so generally I cook outside or prepare salads.
However, on a recent visit the 'current bun' was absent and although still quite warm it was overcast.
I was flipping through the copy of my book that I keep in the caravan, enjoying re-reading the stories that feature on every page and enjoying remembering that epic trip which is three years ago now. Towards the end of the book is one of my real favourite recipes, a perfect meal for a slightly cooler day, and the hero of the dish is the good old sausage! I decided there and then to nip to the shop and get the ingredients and have this for tea.
The recipe uses Bratwurst and they are cooked with an onion gravy made with wheat beer. Bratwurst, a type of German sausage was not available, so I bought some good quality, large fat pork sausages instead. I needed an onion, a bottle of wheat beer, some potatoes, and spring onions.
In the book, the sausages are served with 'Stoemp' which is a type of mashed spud, but I decided on this occasion to make a slightly simpler version, which we call Champ. To make champ you mash potatoes with chopped spring onions that have been poached in a bit of milk, you use the poaching milk and lots of butter in the mash, and it is gorgeous.
Back to the sausages, I cook the sausages in a frying pan to brown the skin and then add an onion that has been cut into rings. I added a splash of oil and cooked the onions slowly to release the sweetness until they became sticky. Then I sprinkled with a tablespoon of plain flour and a little paprika before pouring in about half a bottle of wheat beer. At this point I increased the heat to a boil which removes the alcohol and then returned to a simmer until the gravy reduced and was lovely and thick.
The title of my cook book is Meals on the Move a Campsite Cooking Journey and is available on my website or Amazon.