I’m writing this blog in between mouthfuls of Weet-Bix with honey and cold milk. Having finally finished making (or rather pre-making) school lunches I always feel peckish at this time of the night and this is my snack of choice. My husband often shakes his head in amusement because I rarely eat cereal for breakfast preferring to add it to my night owl menu instead. 

Unlike the Australian Cricket Team I only reach for two of these wheaten cereal bars, not 14 or so as some of their players claimed on past television commercials. A couple of years ago whilst on a family holiday in London, we bumped into the team in the communal hotel breakfast room. Interestingly they weren’t scooping cereal into their bowls, but rather eggs, fruit and pastries. I wonder what was on their dinner menu?

This evening’s dinner was my very tasty version of sausages with mash. I have previously oven roasted good quality snags with blueish-green speckled Puy lentils for an extra protein boost and to create a true stick-to-the-ribs winter warming meal. Tonight I varied this by adding instead, a heaped cup of fresh green peas. You could use frozen baby peas too but they just won’t have that slight textured bite to them upon serving. 

Sausages. What sort should be used in this dish? Well, it all comes down to the variety your family prefer and their availability. There is no point traipsing to the other side of town just to buy “gourmet” sausages. Instead strike up a good relationship with a butcher or two in the area in which you work or live and ask them for a recommendation. I like to use chipolata sausages because they fit neatly into a dish and are easier for little ones to handle. My favourites are either chicken, herb and rocket or the slightly spicy Italian variety. There is a popular butcher in the Sydney suburb of Concord who tells a story about when he was a small child. His mother was most concerned that her children would prefer to eat sausages over steak or chops and expressed this to her local family doctor. He replied, “Well, if they are made with meat, then there isn’t a problem!” That’s the key to a good sausage; quality ingredients, so buy the best that you can afford in order to avoid nasty fillers and unwanted fat.  So much for the sawdust!

Sticky Oven Roasted Sausages 
This recipe will feed 4 – 5 people. I doubled it for my family. 

3 tablespoons olive oil
a couple of pinches of sea salt
1 large Spanish onion 
1 plump clove of garlic
750 grams of your favourite sausages, chipolatas if available. Otherwise twist regular length sausages in half and then snip with kitchen scissors.  
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

Slice the onion in half and then finely cut each half into thin semi-circles. Crush the garlic clove and add both ingredients to a deep frypan in which the olive oil has been gently heated. Sprinkle over the sea salt and sauté over a low heat for 10 minutes. The onion will deepen in colour and becaome sticky and fragrant. 

Add the sausages in two batches and brown, increasing the heat to medium/high in the process. Remove each batch to a baking pan or dish once all sides have been browned. I used a Pillyvuyt ceramic dish. You may have an ovenproof dish that can also be used on the stove which would of course save on the washing up.  

Add the wine to the frypan, increase the heat to high and cook off the alcohol for a minute. Pour this, along with any delicious onion-y bits, over the sausages in your baking dish. 

Scatter through the fresh peas, splash in a couple of extra tablespoons of water and place into a preheated oven at 180 degrees fan-forced for 20 – 30 minutes. The cooking time depends on how plump your sausages are. 

Serve whilst still hot with sweet potato mash, spooning the self saucing gravy over the potatoes and sausages. A crisp salad made with seasonal greens and veggies like juicy capsicum and sweet crunchy carrots completes the meal.