My bangers and Mash

 Irish Bangers with parnip and mash 

& Guinness–calvados Gravy

Comfort food with real character — the Celtic way, done properly

This is bangers and mash, rustic, but with a touch of French chic. This is the real deal — traditional Irish sausages gently pan-finished and glazed in apple juice, served over a silky parsnip and potato mash enriched with Smântână (Romanian sour cream  — deeper than crème fraîche, tangier than double cream). If you don’t have Smântână, good-quality sour cream is a fine substitute.

The star is the gravy — onion, Guinness and Calvados, built the old-school way with proper onion caramelisation and reduced stock, finished with cold butter and a final whisper of raw Calvados at the end for aroma.  Loud, dark, malty, and just refined enough to feel like something the chef would personally bring to your table.

Ingredients (serves 2–3)

For the sausages

4–6 traditional Irish pork sausages

Small splash of Guinness or apple juice (optional glaze finish)

Neutral oil or butter for cooking

Parsnip & Smântână Mash

400g potatoes (floury variety)

200g parsnip

2 tbsp Smântână (or good sour cream as substitute)

1 generous knob of butter

A little apple juice for glazing

Freshly ground black pepper

Sea salt

Small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

Guinness–Calvados Onion Gravy

2 large onions, thinly sliced

25g butter

1 tbsp neutral oil

60ml Calvados (plus 1 tsp raw at the end)

200ml Guinness stout

200–250ml good beef or veal stock

1 tiny drop maple syrup or black treacle (optional, for bitterness balance)

Sea salt & black pepper

Knob of cold butter to finish

Method

1. Start the mash

Peel and boil the potatoes and parsnip together in salted water until tender. Mash while hot with butter, Smântână (or sour cream), salt and black pepper. Fold in chopped parsley at the very end. Keep warm.

2. Cook the sausages properly

Cook your Irish sausages gently in a film of butter or oil — low to medium heat, slowly, turning often. They mustn’t split.

Optional: in the final minute, glaze with a splash of apple juice for shine and Maillard boost. Keep warm.

3. Make the gravy with love

In the same pan or a clean heavy skillet:

Melt butter, caramelise onions slowly to deep gold.

Deglaze with Calvados and flambé if possible — burn off the raw alcohol.

Pour in Guinness and reduce until syrupy, not bitter.

Add stock, simmer until glossy and full-bodied.

Balance if needed with a dot of treacle or maple.

Season. Take off heat. Finish with a cold knob of butter for silk.

Right before serving: 1 teaspoon of raw Calvados stirred in — purely for aroma, not cooked.

Plating

Scoop or quenelle that mash like you love it. Layer the sausages on top — never buried. Pour the gravy generously but with intent, not as a flood. Finish with a final flick of parsley or chives.

At this point sit down and dig in.

What to Serve With It:

Drink: A pint of proper Irish stout, or a chilled Normandy cidre brut.

Side: Buttered seasonal greens, creamed cabbage, or kale with garlic.

Mood: Fireplace, heavy cutlery, zero regret.