Sausage cottage pie with onion gravy

Ingredients

• 1 pound / 450 grams good quality sausages (beef or pork)
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions (peeled and finely sliced)
• 3 tablespoons / 30 grams flour (for thickening)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1 stock-pot (red wine flavour if possible)
• 2 cups water (or use 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2cup red wine)
• Salt (to taste)
• 2 1/2 pounds / 1.25 kg potatoes (peeled and cut into large chunks)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 - 3 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 ounce / 30 grams butter
• 1/2 cup / 50 grams grated cheese (for mixing with the mash)
• 2 tablespoons Wholegrain mustard (or to your own taste)
• 1/2 cup / 50 grams grated cheese (for topping)

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages on a moderate heat until they are browned on all sides. This should not take more than 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Transfer the sausages to a casserole dish and set aside. If you prefer you could cut the sausages into three or four pieces before adding them to the casserole dish.

3. 3

   --- Onion gravy ---

4. 4

   Using the same pan, add the finely sliced onions and fry them gently until they start to turn brown and caramelise. There should be sufficient oil left over from frying the sausages - if not, add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Don't let the onions become too brown.

5. 5

   Remove the onions from the heat and stir in the flour. Make sure the flour is well mixed in, with no lumps.

6. 6

   Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, water and the stock-pot and bring it to a boil.

7. 7

   Turn down the heat, and simmer for about 3 minutes until the gravy is thick and glossy. Stir occasionally to prevent lumps from forming.

8. 8

   Season with salt to taste.

9. 9

   Pour the onion gravy over the sausages.

10. 10

    --- Mashed potatoes ---

11. 11

    Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Boil until the potatoes are soft enough to mash (8 to 10 minutes) then drain them.

12. 12

    Add the milk and butter and mash until smooth. Once mashed, stir in the cheese and mustard.

13. 13

    Carefully place spoonfuls of the mashed potato onto the onion gravy and then use a fork to spread it. Gently fluff the surface of the potato with the fork and then sprinkle the cheese on top.

14. 14

    Place the casserole dish on a baking tray and then bake it in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for about 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the potatoes are golden.

15. 15

    Serve hot, with your choice of vegetables.