St. Patrick's and the Lost Tribe of Israel

In honor of Detroit Food guy's father, Edward Francis, who believed that the Irish were the lost tribe of Israel, we enjoyed corned beef and cabbage this year with a nice Kosher cabernet sauvignon from Israel.

Bangers and Mash

Not

Bangers and Mash for Dinner

A package of "Irish" bangers  called to me recently and I also thought of boxty - mashed spuds with green onions as well. So that what was for dinner would be a good addition. 

A little research and I knew...despite the small lure of St. Patrick's Day dinner and thinking this would work, this is not an Irish meal. 

First, the Irish didn't have meat. And because of that they didn't make sausage. So what they had were potatoes... lots and lots of potatoes, until they didn't. And we know what tragedy happened. 

However and nonetheless the bangers were on the menu. A couple of Google searches and Serious Eats landed the recipe. Gently cook the bangers, then crisp up in a pan. 

Make the spuds (the other Detroit Food guy is a pro at that.) 

And, the kicker, the onion gravy. SO easy. Caramelize a couple of onions, toss in a bit of white wine, a little flour, cook and add beef broth. 

Serve the bangers over the fluffy spuds and ladle on the gravy, which is just ridiculously good. The gravy can anticipate a number of appearances in the future.. over spuds, noodles, and a great burger. 

So while our Irish DNA is a little bit offended by the non-Irish-y bangers, our tastebuds were fine with it. Easy and comforting and hearty. Serve with peas for the full English treatment. But not on an Irish holiday. 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/03/bangers-and-mash-with-onion-gravy-recipe.html?ref=search