Sausages with Sweet Potato Mash and Wilted Greens

Name: Sausages with Sweet Potato Mash and Wilted Greens
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 Cumberland sausages; olive oil; 3 sweet potatoes; salt; 1 red onion; 1/4 Savoy cabbage; 1 cup spinach; 1 cup peas; 2 garlic cloves; 150g butter; fresh thyme leaves

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If you're looking for a cosy, comforting dinner packed with plenty of veg and layers of flavour that's also super quick and easy to make you're going to LOVE our recipe for Sausages with Sweet Potato Mash, Wilted Greens and Garlic Thyme Butter. The mash and greens cook as the sausages roast to make a simple supper for two or more!

Grey plates of sweet potato mash, sausages and greens topped with a disc of garlic butter.

Nothing beats a good plate of bangers and mash (with onion gravy, obviously) but sometimes you want something a little bit different.

Enter our recipe for sausages with sweet potato mash. All the familiar elements of sausages, mashed potatoes and onions are there (in the delicious side of sautéed greens), but as well as being packed with more colours and flavours, we've managed to get a lot more delicious veg in there too.

Also, our garlic thyme butter melts beautifully over the whole thing for an indulgent sauce (but if you have some of our whipped brown butter made up already, we're not going to stop you using that instead!)

Now this is what you call weeknight dinner!

Ingredients

Cumberland sausages (or any other fat British-style sausage - we love the ones from Field and Flower - and if you don't eat pork, Heck do some very lovely chicken sausages)
olive oil (something light to roast the sausages with)
sweet potatoes
sea salt (just for cooking and seasoning, so nothing fancy here)
red onion (you can substitute a brown onion, but the red onion will add a lovely hit of sweetness to the greens)
Savoy cabbage (we love Savoy for the way the ridged leaves collect the flavour of the garlic butter, but a regular white cabbage would also work here, or even shredded kale or Cavolo nero)
spinach (whilst there is a lot of room for movement with the cabbage element, try to stick to spinach here because the way it wilts provides a lovely contrast!)
peas (frozen petit pois are the sweetest, but use whatever you have on hand, fresh podded or frozen)
garlic cloves
butter (use salted butter to make the garlic butter for extra flavour - if you only have unsalted, add a little salt)
fresh thyme (finely chopped rosemary or sage would also work well here)

Plates of bangers, sweet potato mash and greens on a grey countertop.

Close up of roasted sausages served with greens topped with garlic butter and some mashed sweet potato.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do if my sweet potato mash is too watery?

If your sweet potato mash is watery, you've probably overcooked the potatoes or skimped on the steam drying. Fear not! You can either stir in a little potato starch or regular flour for a quick fix, or simply return the pan to the heat and cook the sweet potatoes over a medium heat, stirring regularly until they have thickened. Sweet potato mash won't go 'gluey' like regular mash would if you do this.

Do I have to cook sausages? What else would you recommend serving with the sweet potato mash and greens?

A nice, fat, juicy pork chop with caramelised fat would be amazing here, as would a gamon steak. Moving away from pork, lamb chops would also be good, as would fat slices of grilled smoked tofu, glazed with a little honey for an incredible veggie option.

Sausages and whole garlic cloves drizzled with oil on a baking parchment lined baking tray.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Brush the sausages with a little oil and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until they're juicy and golden. If you fancy adding a roasted garlic kick to the sweet potatoes (great if you don't have time to make the garlic butter) roast a few cloves on the tray with the sausages and squeeze them into the mash once they're soft.

Diced sweet potatoes in a saucepan with flaky sea salt.

Sweet potato mash being stirred with a rubber spatula.

Step 2

Peel and dice the potatoes into large chunks and boil for 15 minutes until just soft. Drain and allow to steam dry for at least 10 minutes.

Mash the potatoes with a large knob of butter and a generous pinch of salt. For a really smooth texture beat with an electric whisk until silky.

Garlic and thyme being beaten into soft butter with a fork.

Compound butter wrapped in baking parchment on a wooden cutting board.

Step 3

For the herb butter place 100g of room temperature butter in a bowl along with two minced garlic cloves and a handful of fresh thyme leaves. Combine well and place onto a piece of parchment paper in a sausage shape. Wrap the butter tightly and twist the ends so you get a neat cylinder shape.

Pop in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up.

Raw red onions and butter in a frying pan.

Step 4

To make the greens, slice the red onion lengthways and sauté in a knob of butter until soft.

Shredded greens being stirred in a frying pan.

Step 5

Add the sliced Savoy cabbage along with a dash of water and stir until evaporated.

Add the spinach and peas, and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

Grey plate of sweet potato mash, roasted sausages, wilted greens and garlic butter.

Step 6

Plate up with a good dollop of the sweet potato mash, the sausages and the wilted greens. Cut a disc of the herb butter and place it on top. Leftover butter will keep for a few weeks and is delicious melted over veg, potatoes and steaks.