School Dinner Curried Sausages

 

One thing I always have plenty of in the freezer are sausages.  I buy them in large packs at Costco and then break them down into 8 sausage packages, packing them into double freezer bags, ready to cook whenever the mood hits.  Costco has really good sausages, both Italian and regular.

 

School dinners were not part of the school day when I was going to school. We had to bring our lunch from home, and so it was always cold sandwiches.  Todd, however, was always privy to School Dinners.  In fact his parents relied upon them to make sure he had a decent hot meal every day.

 

He says he always loved them.  I have heard tales from both sides of the coin.   Some people loved them, others hated them.  I think I would have come from the love camp.

 

Curried sausages is not something I would have ever thought of making prior to coming here to the UK.  We didn't do curry very much at all, but it was something we enjoyed occasionally, usually made with chicken.

 

Here in the UK it is almost a National Dish, right up there with fish and chips!  People just love their curries.  You can get them at every chippy and there is always a curry sauce option for pouring over your chips.

 

I confess I have not tried that yet.  Looking at it, it is always a really bright yellow colour, probably from lots of tumeric . . .  I'll take ketchup thank you very much!

 

Curried Sausage is something which Todd enjoys from his school days.  He loves his bangers and mash anyways, usually with an onion gravy, but he also really loves them with a curry sauce.  And yes, also with mash.

  

These are actually very, VERY good.  And yes, with mash.

 

I remove the sausages from their skins before cooking, rolling them into balls as best as I can, so that they brown more evenly.  You also add a quantity of onion and garlic.

 

Use the best sausage your money can buy.  I use a good meaty sausage without a lot of fillers.  I hate cheap and pasty sausages.  There is only one word to describe them. YUCK.  You get what you pay for.

 

I like to add some vegetables to the sauce.  Normally I cook carrots just until crispy tender and add them to the sauce along with frozen peas.  I thaw the peas first. I dare say that the ones Todd had in his school dinners were probably well over cooked . . . most vegetables were back in the day.

  

These are lovely and fresh, crispy tender.  The peas are frozen, thawed, and basically just heated through for a few minutes so they retain that lovely colour.  Altogether this is delicious!

School Dinner Curried Sausages

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Such a simple dish, but oh so tasty.  Makes a real change from regular sausage and mash!

Ingredients:

• a splash of oil for frying
• 8 plump pork sausages (use the best you can afford)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and  minced
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• 1 TBS medium curry powder
• 3 TBS plain flour
• 480ml hot chicken broth (2 cups)
• 1 TBS mango chutney
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 150g frozen peas, thawed (1 cup)
• hot mashed potatoes to serve

Instructions:

How to cook School Dinner Curried Sausages

1. Put your carrots into a saucepan of boiling water and cook until crispy tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain well and set aside.
2. Remove the skins from your sausages and discard.  Cut the sausages into 4 to 5 bits, and kind of roll the bits into balls.
3. Heat about 1/2 TBS of oil in a large skillet.  Add the sausage balls and brown them all over on all sides until cooked through.  Scoop out onto paper towels to drain while you make the sauce.
4. Add the chopped onion to the drippings in the pan.  Cook over moderate heat until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds longer.  Stir in the curry powder and cook until fragrant.  Stir in the flour and cook for a minute.  At the end of that time whisk in the chicken broth, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce bubbles and thickens.  Whisk in the chutney.  Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Return the sausages to the pan along with the cooked carrots and frozen peas.  Cook and heat through until everything is bubbling.
6. Serve hot and spooned over mashed potatoes.

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You could also serve this with rice if you so wish.  Its a great meal either way!  Enjoy!