Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - JOHN WAYNE

Although rough, ready and certainly extreme, I am offering him his place at the Veggie Dinner Table for being in my all-time-favourite Western (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon) and, more than anything, for this spectacular quote:

“Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway.”

Wayne, born Marion Morrison as everyone knows, was often known simply as 'The Duke'. 
His career took off with his portrayal of The Ringo Kid in Stagecoach (1939) and 83 of his movies were cowboy films.

Therefore, in keeping with the good and honest tradition he embraces and personifies, I will be serving my Vegetarian Cowboy Pie.

COWBOY PIE

Ingredients
6 medium potatoes (about 800g), peeled and cut into two-bite-size pieces
6 vegetarian sausages (defrosted if frozen) 
1 red onion, half chopped and half sliced. 
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 and a half large tin beans baked beans (or 3 small)
2tsp chilli powder
salt and black pepper
75g/ 3oz cheese, grated
1 tbsp olive oil
25g/ 1oz butter
25ml/ 1fl oz milk

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and add fry the sausage until browned. Remove from heat and chop into slices (about 3 per sausage).
Use the same oil to gently fry the onion until soft and then add the garlic. Add the chilli powder and stir well until everything is coated.
Mix in the beans and replace the sausages. Heat until the whole mixture is almost boiling. Adjust chilli heat if you want to and season to taste. Then turn off the heat.


Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a pan of hot water and boil for about 10-12
minutes until soft. 
Then drain and allow to steam for a few minutes. 


Return to the pan. Add the butter and milk and season well. Mash. A normal 'masher' is fine. It doesn't have to be silky smooth but you don't want any lumps.





Place sausage mixture in a large bowl.
Spread the mashed potato over the top and use a fork to score. Place on a baking tray (to make it easier later to remove from the oven and to catch any drips).

If you wish, you can now cover this and keep until ready to cook. 

Grate the cheese for later.

When you are ready, heat the oven to 
Gas 7/ 200C. Bake for about 20 mins.

Sprinkle cheese over the top of the potato, return to the oven and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes until cheese bubbles.