Ingredients

• 8 meaty pork sausages
• English mustard to serve
• 700g/1½lb onions
• sliced thinly
• pinch sugar
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 25g/1oz butter
• 1 tsp plain flour
• 600ml/1 pint brown ale
• 600ml/1 pint fresh beef stock
• ½ star anise
• 2 cloves
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 900g/2lb floury main crop potatoes
• peeled and cut into chunks
• 55g/2oz butter
• 2-3 tbsp milk
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• To make the beer and onion gravy
• heat the oil and the butter in a large
• heavy based saucepan. Add the onions and sugar and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes
• stirring now and then
• until soft and richly caramelised. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir in the beer
• beef stock
• star anise
• cloves and bay leaves and boil vigorously until reduced to a rich
• glossy sauce - about 20 minutes in a large sauté pan. Remove the star anise
• bayleaves and cloves (if you can find them) from the gravy and season to taste with some salt and pepper.
• For the sausages and mashed potato
• cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 minutes until soft. Then after about 10 minutes
• heat the oil for the sausages in a large frying pan. Add the sausages and fry them over a medium heat for 10 minutes
• turning now and then
• until nicely browned and cooked through.
• Drain the potatoes and mash until smooth - a potato ricer does this really well. Beat in the butter with some seasoning and enough milk to make a smooth
• creamy mash.
• Spoon the mashed potatoes onto warmed plates and rest the sausages alongside. Pour over some of the gravy and serve with a good spoonful of English mustard.