Poor Man’s Wellingtons/Posh Sausage Rolls

 29/12/2016

I’m not really sure what to call these. Whichever way you look at them though, they’re tasty.

You can make them as fancy as you like and add whatever you have. They are great layered up with mushroom, meat and caramelised red onion chutney or even with a layer of stilton or goats cheese crumbled in between the sausage and flaky pastry. You can add different flavours such as bacon, chestnuts, garlic, apples or cranberries too. They are just a really lovely warming and comforting snack that is great to have on hand at this time of year to use up your leftovers and add major kudos to the buffet table.

I have made my own rough puff pastry here as I love getting hands on in the kitchen and making everything from scratch but if you really don’t have time, ready-made puff pastry is absolutely fine. I won’t tell anyone. Either way, you’ll have something that is way better than anything you can buy.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

For the shortcut puff pastry:

• 600g/1lb 5oz plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 300g/10½oz butter, 100g/3½oz chilled and cut into cubes, 200g/7oz frozen

For the filling:

• 300g/10½oz chestnut mushrooms
• 2 tbsp thyme leaves
• 300g/10½oz good-qualitysausage meat
• ½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• ¼ nutmeg, finely grated
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Method:

1. For the shortcut puff pastry, mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Rub in the chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water to form a dough (about 4-6 tablespoons of water).
2. Roll the dough out into a rectangle on a lightly floured work surface.
3. Coarsely grate the frozen butter over the bottom two-thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third as if folding a letter.
4. Turn the folded dough 90 degrees on the work surface and roll out into a rectangle again.
5. Fold again in thirds, wrap the dough in cling film and set aside to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Repeat the rolling, folding and turning process a further two times, chilling in between each turn. In total you will have done four turns. Rest the pastry in the fridge while you make the filling.
6. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
7. For the filling, put the mushrooms in a food processor and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until the mushrooms are broken down to a rough paste. Add the thyme and give the mix a final pulse.
8. Put the mushroom mixture into a dry frying pan set over a medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until all the moisture has evaporated from the mushrooms. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.
9. To assemble, roll out the pastry into a 60x45cm/24x18in rectangle, and cut into 12 squares.
10. Divide the mushroom mixture into 12 portions and spread a portion down the centre of each square of pastry, leaving a 2cm/1in gap at the top and bottom.
11. In a bowl, mix the sausage meat with the onion, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mould into 12 sausage shapes. Place on top of the mushroom paste.
12. Make two small diagonal cuts from each corner of the pastry, to remove a small triangle. Then fold the top and bottom ‘wings’ over the ends of the sausage meat. Cut a 1cm/½in fringe all the way down the pastry on each side of the filling. Bring one strip over the filling from one side, then one from the other and so on, crossing the strips over to form a plaited effect. Tuck the ends of the pastry under the plait, trimming off any excess if necessary.
13. Repeat with the remaining squares of pastry until you have 12 mini sausage plaits. Place the plaits on a baking tray, brush with beaten egg.
14. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden-brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack then serve hot or cold.

 

 

 

Cheese & Onion Pasties

 26/09/2016

Pasties! As the weather begins to turn, nothing hits the spot more than a comforting pasty with crisp, golden pastry with an oozing cheesy filling. Mmmmm

Different fats produce different characteristics in baked or fried foods and hard fat will produce a crisper texture than any other. I have tried using beef dripping with this pastry and lard. Both have given extremely crisp results with their own savoury character.

The use of some strong flour in the pastry also makes the dough a little more resilient to make shaping easier without sacrificing tenderness.

The mix of different mustards is purely my preference so if you have any favourites then feel free to experiment.

Either way, the mix of fresh spring onions with hearty potato, autumnal swede and melting strong cheddar is an absolute winner encased in a crisp, buttery house of loveliness.

 

Makes 6

Ingredients:

For the rough puff dripping crust:

• 300g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 100g strong white flour
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 50g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g beef dripping or lard, at room temperature
• 150ml lukewarm water

For the filling:

• 150g Extra mature cheddar (I used Barber’s Cruncher)
• 100g peeled and diced swede
• 100g peeled and diced potato
• 3-4 large spring onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon each of wholegrain mustard, Dijon mustard and English mustard powder
• A few sprigs of thyme – optional
• 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Method:

1. For the rough puff dripping crust:
2. Place the flours and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into little pieces and rub into the flour then cut the dripping or lard into 1cm pieces and toss it through. Do not rub it in. Stir the water in without kneading until the dough just combines then leave for 10 minutes.
3. Generously flour the work surface to stop the dough sticking then roll out the dough to 50cm x 20cm. Fold the dough in by thirds then roll out again towards the unfolded ends and fold in by thirds once more. Cover the dough or place in a bag and let it rest somewhere cool (but not as cold as the fridge) for 30 minutes.
4. Repeat the rolling, folding and resting twice more. The pastry is then ready to be used. You can also freeze it at this point in a sealed ziplock bag then just allow to thaw completely before using.

For the filling:

5. Place the grated cheese and spring onions in a bowl with the swede and potato, add the salt, pepper, flour and thyme, if using, and toss this together and chill.
6. Roll the pastry out to about ½cm thick and cut out circles using a side plate as a guide.
7. Mix the mustards and mustard powder together in a small bowl. Lightly coat the centre of each pastry circle with the mustard and brush the edges with water. Place a generous spoonful of filling on one half of the pastry leaving a clean ½cm border.
8. Fold the pastry over the filling and press the edges together gently to seal. Crimp as you like. Repeat with the remaining pasties then place on a greaseproof lined baking tray.
9. Chill the pasties in the fridge while you heat the oven to 200C then brush them with egg wash and bake them for 45 minutes until the pastry is rich and golden and the filling is piping hot.

Hot Crust Sausage Rolls

 30/09/2014

These are the best thing I’ve baked in quite a while and there’s not even peanut butter in them. You just cannot beat homemade and these juicy, meaty, flaky, buttery sausage rolls are a casing point – they’re insane!

With the sausage meat, use any sausage meat that you like. You can use your favourite flavoured sausages or just good old plain pork. I would just recommend that you use a nice, good quality meat.

The homemade rough puff pastry is a definite must! I know it takes a while to make but the flavour and texture can NOT be rivalled. The addition of a few spices in the dough makes these something extra special too.

You do not want the butter incorporated into the flour at the beginning. It should remain in chunks that will become dispersed through the pastry as you fold and chill it creating delicate layers that will puff up to make the most amazing light and crispy casing.

Don’t be alarmed if you find a lot of fat has leaked out during baking either. This is quite normal. Just remove the rolls with a slotted spatula to a wire rack with some kitchen paper on to soak any excess liquid. The pastry will stay wonderfully flaky and crisp this way.

Ingredients:

• 250g plain flour, plus more for rolling
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 225g ice-cold unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
• 150ml cold milk
• 500g sausages, any sort
• 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
• A handful of chopped parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 beaten egg

Method:

1. Place the flour, mustard powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, baking powder and butter in a bowl, toss the butter though then stir in the milk to make a lumpy sough without kneading.
2. Using lots of flour, roll the dough out to 30cm across. Fold it in by thirds, roll again, fold again and chill for 30 minutes. Repeat this rolling, folding and chilling twice more before rolling the pastry out to about 30cm x 45cm and cutting it into three 30cm x 15cm strips.
3. Heat the oven to 200C. Strip the sausages of their casings and mix the meat with the onion herbs and plenty of fresh black pepper. Shape the meat into three equal-sized ‘sticks’ about 30cm long, place one in the centre of each dough strip, fold the dough around, enclosing the filling and seal the edges with a little water.                                                       
4. Press each roll to flatten slightly, cut to the size you want and place seam-side down on a tray lined with baking paper.
5. Brush the rolls with beaten egg, slash the tops with a sharp knife and bake for 40 minutes if they’re large pieces, a little less if they’re small.

 

I made 6 big sausage rolls with this recipe. You could freeze them if you don’t need them all and have a lovely treat waiting to be pulled out for when you fancy an indulgent snack. Who said freezer meals were boring?