Aligot with red wine braised beef sausages

Cheese blended into mashed potatoes makes the perfect hearty accompaniment to wine-braised sausages. A real winter warmer.

Ingredients

For the aligot

• 1kg/2lb 4oz floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or Desiree, peeled and roughly chopped into equal-sized pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250ml/9fl oz full-fat milk
• 100g/3½oz unsalted butter 
• 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
• 250g/9oz Lancashire cheese, grated
• 250g/9oz gruyère, gated
• salt, to taste

For the red wine braised beef sausages

• dash oil
• 6 beef sausages 
• 6 round shallots, quartered
• 300ml/10fl oz red wine 
• 300ml/10fl oz beef stock 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole 
• small bunch thyme 

Method

1. To make the aligot, place the potatoes, garlic, and salt into a large saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender. Drain and allow to steam dry before pushing through a ricer or mouli, or mash with a potato masher.

2. Heat the milk in a large saucepan and add the butter and cream and then bring to a boil. Stir in the cooked potatoes and add the grated cheese. Mix well, then keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, to make the red wine braised beef sausages, heat a dash of oil in a lidded saucepan over a medium heat and brown the sausages all over. Remove from the pan.

4. Add the shallots to the pan then pour in the wine and cook until the volume of liquid has reduced by half. Then pour in the stock and add he sausages back into the pan, along with the bay leaf, garlic and thyme. Put the lid on and braise gently for around 20 minutes.

5. Serve the aligot with the sausages and braising liquor. 

Source: BBC