Bonfire Sausages with Tomato Gravy and White Bean Mash

Bonfire Night means bangers to me! Not the exploding firework kind (although I don’t mind them) but the meaty sausage sort. And what better than bangers and mash?

I have little problem in demolishing a sausage but do chew very, very well and choose a good meaty and low fat variety for good nourishment, but can be greedy with the potato mash. This latest recipe, using a white bean mash, salves my conscience and also ups my protein for this classic dish, and served with a tomato and red onion gravy, is just as delicious as my past favourite – plain onion gravy.

It’s perfect food for this time of year – Bonfire Night of course, but I shall be making it a once a month staple by stocking up on some good quality sausages. I shall also ensure that I have a good store of beans on my larder shelf – you can use canned cannelini beans instead of butter if you prefer to make your ‘mash’.

SAUSAGES WITH TOMATO GRAVY & WHITE BEAN MASH

Ingredients

METRIC/US

340 g/12 oz pack meaty, low-fat sausages (I used Heck Chicken Italia Sausages, yielding 10 sausages per pack)

2 red onions, cut into 8 wedges

1 bulb garlic, sliced in half across the middle

1 tbsp oil or low-fat cooking spray or mist

2 x 400 g/14 oz cans butter beans, drained

juice of ½ lemon

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour

400 ml/1¾ cups hot chicken stock/bouillon

2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350F/gas 4.
Place the sausages, red onions and garlic bulb in a heavy-based roasting tin/pan, add the oil or spritz very generously with low-fat cooking spray and toss well. Place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing a few times during cooking, until the sausages are golden and the onions are tender.
Remove the sausages from the roasting tin/pan and set aside (covered with foil to keep warm). Remove the garlic from the tin/pan and squeeze the softened cooked flesh back into a saucepan. Add the butter beans, 100 ml/½ cup water and the lemon juice. Cook over a gentle heat until hot and then mash until creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place the roasting tin/pan on the hob and heat gently. Sprinkle over the flour, mix well with the onions then slowly add the chicken stock/bouillon until you have a thickened onion sauce. Stir in the sun-dried tomato paste and seasoning to taste, and cook for a few minutes.
To serve, divide the sausages and butter bean mash between plates. Pour over the gravy and serve with some greens if liked.

SERVES 4

WLS PORTION: ½

CALORIES PER PORTION (using low-fat spray/mist): 290

PROTEIN: 27g

CARBOHYDRATE: 32.1g

FAT: 5.5g

Image courtesy of http://www.waitrose.com