Bangers 'n' Mash

Bangers (English colloquial for sausages) and mash is truly English "pub-grub" at its simplest. And yet, bangers 'n' mash were once served as a delicacy during the coronation of King James II in the 17th century. Now that is what I call true democracy at work, food created for royalty ending up as a popular dish of the plebeian masses.

Grill a couple of your favourite pork, beef or lamb sausages, and serve them on top of a mound of silky smooth fluffy mashed potatoes and a satisfying meal is guaranteed in half an hour. Instead of the usual pork sausages, I used minced lamb with rosemary sausages. Excellent meaty flavors against the foil of the mashed potatoes. The 'mash' in this case is mashed russet burbank potatoes with some butter, low-fat cottage cheese, milk and of course, salt and black pepper. Reducing the level of butter normally added to mashed potatoes, I added low-fat cottage cheese instead (read this from a Martha Stewart recipe for lighter mash), and I must say that it did its trick to create this wonderfully light silky smooth mash.

Dining on this dish, I'm reminded fondly of my first visit to England more than 10 years ago. Hubby and I were doing a self-drive out of London around Surrey and Oxfordshire and being on a budget, pub-grub was all we could afford then, bangers 'n' mash, steak and kidney pies, fish 'n' chips, roast beef with baked potatoes, all washed down with british ale or stout. Dining off potatoes (mashed, boiled, steamed, baked or fried) at lunch and dinner for a substantial portion of our trip, it soon dawned on us that we were true 'chinamen' at heart, and potatoes no matter how tasty could never satisfy that singular yearning for rice and vegetables.