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❤ Ola Foodies ❤

So on Friday I had one of my nephews over for a playdate for Jude and figured it was as good a day as any to then have his mom and dad over for dinner :) So, I wanted to make something that would be enjoyed by everyone - especially the kids... Now, I know that Bangers and mash seems like such a "gewone" meal (thats Afrikaans for "common/ordinary") - but I can assure you - there is absolutely NOTHING "gewone" about my bangers and mash - hehehe!

I am a HUGE fan of both pork bangers AND mash, so the two together, even served plainly, is a fav of mine... but I have transformed it to make it more appealing to those that are not quite as enthusiastic about it as I am... hehehehe!

PIMP'D Bangers and Mash :)

🍴

Ok, so first off these are the FUNDAMENTAL things you will need:

pork bangers (duh!)
Cubed sweet potato (or traditional potato - just I don't eat them anymore)
Bacon rashers
Fresh rocket
A sweet bell pepper (colour of your choice)
3 onions
Gravy of your choice (I use brown onion)
Balsamic Vinegar
Sugar

Right - so I am sure nobody here really needs a lesson on how to make mashed potato so I am going to pretty much skip that part - although I will say two things... the first being, that the secret to any REALLY delicious mashed potato... is REAL BUTTER and fine black pepper... and the second being, that you make sweet potato mash, PRECISELY the same way you would make normal mash. If any of you are NOT successful with making a tasty mash potato, I will GLADLY do a post on it, just shout! (My mash - which is essentially my mothers mash haha - is rather famous... my ex boyfriend even wrote a song on his guitar about it... hahahaha!!!)

Anyhooo..... moving along swiftly lol...

Right, so... boil your potatoes and make your mash....

Some people like a completely smooth mash. Personally, I prefer a little bit of "chunk" in it...

Once that is out of the way, the fun stuff starts...
Fry or grill your pork bangers until they are golden and delicious looking.

I normally would have opted for grilling them,
but the oven was otherwise engaged at the time as you will discover shortly...

In fact, if I am VERY honest...
Jude and I both prefer our bangers boiled... lol
yeah... don't all run away in horror now! hahaha!
I mean they get draped in gravy anyway, so who cares... lol
but, seeing as we were having guests,
I figured I would at least make the darn things look pretty ;)

So while the bangers are sizzling,
take your bacon rashers and lay them out
on a non-stick roasting pan (or at least spray it with some non-stick)
and stick those babies under the grill!

You want them to come out REALLY crispy,
Almost biltong like
(biltong is the South African version of Jerky - except WAY more awesome hehe)

right, so now you know why the oven was otherwise engaged...

While both of those beauts are busy,
VERY thinly slice up your bell pepper.
I chose to go with green,
because I planned to add red tomatoes as a garnish
and technically, the potato is representative of yellow.

Colour balance on a plate is super important to me...
can you tell? ;)

Once you are done with the bangers, the bacon and the bell pepper,
heat a pot with some olive oil and slice the onion into rings.
Not too thin, not too thick.

When the oil is heated, add the onions,
a dribble of balsamic vinegar (don't be too heavy handed...)
a sprinkling of sugar,
and salt to taste.
Sauté those until they are nice and golden,
almost sticky looking.
(Not ACTUALLY sticky - but sticky looking lol)

Be sure to stir that frequently - otherwise they WILL burn!

Once you are done with the onions,
you are pretty much done,
except for making your gravy.
As mentioned earlier,
I find a brown onion gravy the BEST match for this dish.

Time to plate,

and with this version of mine,
the plating is rather vital!

It needs to be somewhat stacked,
not unlike a dagwood burger...

So, the potato first,
then the caramelised onions,
then three bangers per portion,
some gravy over it all,
then the bacon rashers,
followed by the bell pepper slices,
and finally, a few sprigs of fresh rocket
and two or three cherry tomatoes.