After an oddly warm week the chill factor definitely crept in this weekend. So I planned a weekend supper to warm the cockles and nourish my allotment workers before they headed out for firework action.
My dad, aka allotment guru, was in town so we put him straight to work.
The plum tree was given a very severe hair cut by Matthew and dad. Sam set about the undergrowth with extreme concentration. Arlo pottered about merrily.
I retreated to get dinner underway and found recipe inspiration on the splendid My daddy cooks blog with gastrodad Nick and his trusty kitchen sidekick three-year-old Archie.
If you’ve not seen this blog you must check it out! Nick and Archie produce videos of their cooking adventures and the hilarity levels are often high. Anyone who’s ever got their kids to ‘help’ in the kitchen will LOVE their antics.
Their Bonfire Night Sausage Casserole looked incredible, and even though I didn’t have two hours cooking time, the hour and a half I gave it worked perfectly.
I upped the amount of sausages and used butter beans coz they’re my dad’s fave. Here’s my slight adaptation of Nick’s recipe.
Bonfire night sausage casserole (feeds 3 adults & 2 littlies)
1 onion, finely sliced
Tbsp olive oil
12 sausages
1 x tin chopped tomatoes
400 ml hot water
Beef stock cube
1 heaped tbsp dark brown sugar
Pinch paprika
Tsp dried thyme
Tbsp Worcester sauce
1 x tin butter beans
2 carrots, thickly sliced into rounds
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1. Preheat oven to 180’c. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed casserole on the hob and soften your onions for five mins, then set aside. Cook your sausages until golden.
2. Remove pan from heat and add the rest of your ingredients along with the softened onions, stirring thoroughly to combine.
3. Cover and put in the oven for 1.5 hours. For the final 30 mins, remove the lid to allow the sauce to thicken.
4. Serve with mash or jacket spuds and steamed greens.
I pimped up my mash for extra indulgence and to boost the boys’ energy before they headed out for the local firework display.
Pimped up mash
600g potatoes, peeled and quartered
50g butter
100ml milk
1 leek finely chopped
50g sweetcorn
60g cheddar, grated
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1. Put your potatoes in a pan and bring to boil. Meanwhile on a low hear sauté your leek in half the butter for 10 mins until soft then set aside.
2. Once your potatoes are cooked, drain then and return to pan and heat for a few minutes to dry them off.
3. Mash with the rest of the butter and all your milk till fluffy.
4. Stir in the leeks, cheese, sweetcorn and mustard until well combined. Serve!
The whole meal was demolished in minutes. The casserole is SO delicious I had to have a second helping of mash to mop up every last drop of the tasty sauce.
So if you’re after a winter warming crowd pleaser – THIS IS IT!! Thanks Nick 🙂
I love the sound of Pimped Up Mash! I think I know what we’re having for tea tonight now!
Mash is so versatile… perfect on a gloomy day like today for cheering everyone up!
I love the look of this recipe. Im going to try it tonight. I’m hoping it might work well as the main dish for a bonfire party I’m planning. Hopefully mash will be easier to keep hot, serve and eat than the jackets I’d planned.
hope the dish goes well – it’s one of my faves 🙂
I made this last year for our bonfire night. I made it earlier in the day and served it in bowls with crusty bread. The only alteration I made was to add a generous amount of Spanish smoked paprika. It went down so well. Everybody had seconds and some even had thirds!! It was so popular that I’ve spent the last 30 minutes trying to recall where I saw the recipe. I found it!!! Thank you x
hehhe you’re welcome – I made it again this week for the first time in ages. I used a tin of chickpeas and the meatiest sausages I’ve ever had and it went down a storm with the boys. I’ve kept the leftover sauce to have as a bowl of soup for lunch this week – yum! Glad you enjoyed the recipe too.