Paleo Bangers and Mash

We’re very fortunate to have a restaurant called 44 Stone here in Columbia. A public house, a gastropub if you will, which for the average Midwesterner is still something relatively new in concept. Now, you might be thinking it’s weird to say that we’re fortunate, but when you live in a college town, every other restaurant is either a chain pizza joint or a bar that serves whatever comes off the Cisco truck and can be reheated in the amount of time it takes to pour a beer. I still remember the first time we went, and I was floored to see items like roasted chicken, Welsh rarebit, and one of my favorites, bangers and mash.

With few ingredients, bangers and Mash has quickly become an easy weeknight Paleo meal for us, almost as easy as Shepherd’s Pie. Making the gravy is a little time-consuming, but we’ve made it in advance successfully, and a batch typically makes enough for several meals.

Ingredients:

Sausage: 2 lbs pork sausage, of good quality (no fillers, nitrates, and sugar)
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil

Cauliflower mash
1 head cauliflower, leaves removed, stem and florets chopped into similar sized pieces
4 tablespoons coconut milk or heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Onion Gravy:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 yellow onions, sliced and separated into strips
1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot powder mixed with a little bit of water
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Place sausages in a roasting pan, drizzle with coconut oil and toss to coat.
3. Spread sausages out in single layer and bake, turning after 15 minutes, until evenly colored, about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the mash: Bring about 1 cup of water to a simmer in a pot, then add the cauliflower (we use a little steamer insert, but steam however you choose). Cover and turn the heat to medium. Cook the cauliflower for 12-15 minutes or until very tender. Drain and discard all of the water (the drier the cauliflower is, the better) and transfer to a large bowl or food processor. Add the coconut milk/cream, garlic, butter, salt and pepper to taste and mash with a masher or pulse in the processor until it looks like mashed potatoes.
5. To make gravy, melt the butter with the coconut oil in a wide shallow saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they are soft (roughly 20 minutes). Stir in arrowroot mixture and cook until lightly colored, 2-3 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar and cook until evaporated. Stir in red wine and stock, increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until a rich sauce forms, about 15 minutes. Add more arrowroot/water if necessary to reach desired consistency.
6. Divide sausages and mash among individual plates and spoon gravy on top. Serve immediately.

Our onion gravy kept a very distinct red color from the wine, so I’m thinking maybe next time I’ll lessen it a bit, but that’s purely for color, not taste. It tastes amazing, especially over my latest obsession, cauliflower mash. Best yet, it’s another perfect comfort food dish for cold nights after a tough workout. After our insanely hot summer, I am SO happy to be in the season of snow and cold. Now if only we could get a little snow…

Oh…and because I just have to…