Cooking with Cider: Banger Bake, Toffee Apple Gravy and Pulp Raspberry!

Pork works really well with fruit; sausages and pork pies have long been classic partners to a pint of cider.

In this recipe, we take things one step further; as well as the delicious apples used in the gravy, adding a drop of our Pulp Raspberry cider elevates the flavour even more and cuts through the creaminess of the caramel. The great news is, you'll have a decent amount left in the bottle to wash it all down with!

This recipe originates from the fantastic foodies over at Gousto; we've just tweaked it to give it that cider-y loveliness...

YOU WILL NEED:

INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

2 x apples
1 x beef stock cube
6 x white potatoes
300g spring greens
240g puff pastry
2 x Catherine wheel sausages (about 227g each)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C (fan)/395°F/Gas 6

Boil a kettle

Unroll the puff pastry and add it to a baking paper-lined baking tray

Add the Catherine wheel sausages to the centre of the puff pastry

Put the tray in the oven and cook for 25-30 min or until the pastry is golden and the sausage is cooked through  – this is your banger bake

Peel and chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces

Add the chopped potatoes to a pot with plenty of boiled water and a generous pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12-15 min or until fork-tender

Once done, drain and return to the pot to steam dry

Reboil a full kettle

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the apples finely (skin on), discarding the core

Heat a large, wide-based  non-stick pan with a generous knob of butter over a medium heat

Once melted, add the sliced apple with 3tsp of sugar and cook for 4-5 min or until starting to caramelise

Keep an eye on these to make sure they don't burn!

While the apple caramelises, dissolve the beef stock cube in 200ml of boiling water. Add 50ml of Pulp Raspberry cider

Once caramelised, add 2 tsp flour and give everything a good mix up until a paste forms

Gradually stir the beef stock and Pulp Raspberry cider into the paste and cook for 5 min or until a smooth, thick sauce remains – this is your toffee apple gravy, and my goodness, it's delicious!

Resist all temptation to lock yourself in a room and eat the gravy....

Instead, rip the leaves off the spring greens, cut out the tough stalks, then layer the leaves over each other, roll them up and slice into thin strips

Heat a separate pot of boiled water with a pinch of salt over a high heat

Once boiling, add the sliced spring greens and cook for 2-3 min or until just tender

Once tender, drain and return the pot

Return the potatoes to a low heat with a knob of butter and a splash of milk

Season with a pinch of salt and mash until smooth

Cut the banger bake in half and serve with the mash and spring greens to the side

Drizzle the toffee apple gravy all over and season with a good grind of black pepper

Knock it all back with a bottle or two of Pulp Raspberry Cider!