For St George’s Day and England!

Sunday the 23rd April, this year, 2017, is St George’s Day – the patron saint of England, this Saint’s day is the least observed Saint’s day in the United Kingdom, and I think that’s a shame; so, with that in mind, I decided to create a little bit of culinary fun, enter today’s recipe idea for St George’s Mushroom & Egg Sausage Burger on Toast, which, if I’m honest, is more of an assembly job more than a recipe, but the recipe idea incorporates some terribly English elements of an “on toast” meal, with some of our favourite condiments on the side, that’s tomato ketchup, Worcester sauce, English mustard and a blast from the past, some Geo Watkins mushroom ketchup.

Today’s idea for a tasty English breakfast, brunch or high tea dish came from the British sausage company Heck, who, last year shared a photo of a sausage burger with the St George’s Cross in tomato ketchup, that had been added to one half of the burger bun! What a spiffing idea I thought, and so this year I am running with that idea and came up with my “upmarket” burger on toast, with fried mushrooms, a sausage patty burger, fried vine tomatoes and a fried egg to complete the picture. It’s an easy to prepare dish, and would be perfect for Sunday morning’s brekkie on the 23rd April.

You don’t have to be English to enjoy this, as I’m sure we’ve all embraced a pint of Guinness on St Paddy’s Day, a wee dram on St Andrew’s Day as well as several Welsh Cakes on St David’s Day – and, you can use a beef burger in place of the sausage patty burger if you wish, but I rather liked the idea of sausage, egg and mushrooms on toast as a quirky change to the All American burger and the usual “FEB” (Full English Breakfast). Plus, when served like this, you can dish this up for later meals, such as lunch, tea or supper too. The only stipulation is for free-range eggs, proper high meat content bangers and fresh mushrooms, as well as some nice sliced bread.

There’s no printable recipe card below, just a few ideas on how to serve this patriotic dish this weekend, with some taste tips and ideas; I used some chicken sausages, it was all I had to hand in the freezer and we do like chicken bangers, but you can use any meat or non-meat sausages (such as Quorn) that lights your dragon’s fire!  Serve this meal with a pot of good English Breakfast tea, or with a pint of ale, the choice is yours! It’s been an easy 4-day week after the long Easter weekend last week, and I think this dish is just the thing to keep your spirits high for the ensuing normal 5-day working week that follows……for those who are lucky enough to work Monday to Friday. That’s all for today, I’ll be back with more recipes and some new restaurant (and hotel) reviews as well as more traveller’s tales, see you soon, Karen 

How to assemble a St George’s Mushroom and Egg Sausage Burger on Toast

1. Buy some good bangers, high meat content are best, or use your favourite veggie sausages, skin them and shape them into a patty, you will need about one and half sausages for each “burger”.
2. Fry some fresh mushrooms in butter, and once they are nearly cooked, push them to one side, and add the vine tomatoes and sausage patties; fry the sausage patties for about 3 minutes each side until they are cooked right through.
3. Keep the mushrooms, tomatoes and sausage patties warm, then in the same pan, add some more butter or oil and fry the eggs, 1 per person, to taste, as in “sunny side up” or “over easy” etc.
4. Toast some bread, 2 slices per person, and arrange the toast on each plate. You can butter the toast if you wish, then add the tomato ketchup on 1 slice of toast in the shape of the St George cross – I used a cake decorating tube with pipette!
5. Spoon the mushrooms into a tea-cup, place the sausage burger on the plain slice of toast, then sit the fried egg on top and serve immediately with the fried tomatoes on the side. Make sure you have an army of British condiments on the side!
6. Job done mate! Enjoy and read a bit of Charles Dickens or Shakespeare for light entertainment…….

Who was St George?

St George was born to Christian parents in A.D. 270 (3rd Century) in Cappadocia, now Eastern Turkey.
He moved to Palestine with his Mother and became a Roman soldier, rising to the high rank of Tribunus Militum.

St Adomnán, the Abbot of Iona in Scotland, provides Britain’s earliest recorded reference to Saint George in the 7th Century. He details the story of the Saint’s exploits, which had been told to him by a French bishop named Arcuif who had travelled to Jerusalem with the crusaders.
St Bede the Venerable (c.a. 673-735) from Northern England, also made reference to St George in his writings.

English soldiers wore a sign of St George on their chest and on their backs in the 14th century, as the Saint was regarded as a special protector of the English.

It was in the year 1415 AD that St. George became the Patron Saint of England when English Soldiers under Henry V when he won the battle of Agincourt.

St Georges Day.com