Homemade Sausage Rolls

I'm so proud of this pastry - and it's easy!

In these uncertain times, being able to cook is really important. It’s something that has kept me sane, and I’ve had some extra time to be able to make stuff I never normally would have. You can make this recipe even easier, by buying pre-made pastry, but I haven't made it in ages and wanted to make sure I still had it (spoiler, I do).

Pre-bake (I got ten out of the recipe and froze the other two).

One thing I’m really missing is a big meaty sausage roll. The kind where the filling is thick and flavoursome and the pastry is fresh and crisp. You cannot get this from a supermarket pre-packaged sausage roll. I mean, I’m still buying and eating them, but they’re quite underwhelming.

Post bake, smells so good

The obvious next step was to take things into my own hands. I whipped up some rough puff pastry (took about 50 minutes) and filled it with sausage meat that I randomly flavoured with anything that sounded good.

And it was good.

Makes 10 sausage rolls, serves as many as your heart desires

Ingredients for the puff pastry

• 200g plain flour
• Pinch salt
• 175g butter, not cold from the fridge
• 100ml cold water

Ingredients for the sausage filling

• 400g pork sausage meat
• ½ onion
• 1 tsp sage
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp mustard
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Ground black pepper

To finish

• 1 egg, beaten
• A sprinkling of seeds (sesame seeds, poppy seeds etc)

Method

Start with the pastry as it needs time to chill. Your butter should be nearing room temperature but not soft, I took mine out of the fridge about 2 hours before using.

Measure out the flour, stir in the salt, then add the butter (cut into chunks). Roughly rub the butter into the flour with your fingers. There will be big globs of butter – you want that.

Add in about 75ml of the water and mix until you have a rough, slightly soft dough. Add more water if needed to get it to come together.

Cover in cling film and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Come back to it, form into a rough rectangle on a floured surface.

And roll out until long and thin, like 15cm x40 cm ish. Roll in only one direction.

Fold the bottom third into the middle, and put the top third over the top of that.

Spin it around 1 quarter turn and roll it out as before, folding over again.

Turn it once more, roll out and repeat the folding. Put the folded pastry in the fridge again for 20 minutes.

Now you can make the filling. Chop the onion up small and add it to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well with your hands.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

Now, remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out once more to a long rectangle, but a little wider than before, closer to 20cm by 45 cm.

Place the meat filling in a long cylinder shape up the centre of the pastry.

Brush one long edge with beaten egg. Roll up, keeping the seam at the bottom. The egg should help to bind it together. Cut into whichever size you like, I went for 10 medium ones.

Place on a baking tray, brush with the egg and sprinkle with some sesame seeds or whatever you have on hand. I had some yummy “everything but the bagel” seasoning from a kind friend, so I used that!

Bake for 35 minutes until the pastry is golden and the meaty filling is cooked through.

Enjoy hot or cold!

Pretzel Dogs

Happy weekend! And what better way to celebrate than with more pretzels! You may have noticed a theme on my blog - I find one thing that I newly love to make and just make it all the time in slightly different variations. Currently. I'm on a pretzel-theme - and there is more to come!

I love the versatility of pretzel-style breads. They all have a similar method - making dough, usually letting rise, forming into shape, then dipping into a bicarbonate bath before baking. It's not difficult, but it can be a bit fiddly. It's all worth it though, because it makes a delicious bread! The dough recipe probably makes slightly too much for one 10-pack of hotdogs, so because I can't throw anything away (thanks, nanny!) I used up the rest of the dough to make a few halloumi-dogs, and they were also fantastic, just as cheese baked in bread should be,

And this dense chewy bread of course also works really well with the soft, salty frankfurter. That equals the best kind of hot dog. And for me, a bitesize hot dog is total party food. I love making party food, because I love having parties. But having party food just for dinner is also excellent, in the same way that having breakfast food for dinner is excellent. It is a little bit of a treat, and I don't do it often, so it totally brightens up my day.

Chockladbollar

Well hello, festive treats from Sweden!

You may have seen a version of these lurking around your local IKEA. They are a traditional Swedish treat, and they taste great! I like to think of these as little Scandinavian balls of love. I associate them with Christmas, because that’s when my Swedish boyfriend and I ALWAYS head to IKEA to get all sorts of Swedish food and Christmas decorations.

If you’re not a coffee fan (I don’t like coffee, but I like coffee and chocolate!) then feel free to substitute the coffee for a dash of mint flavouring, or fresh orange juice, or even a sprinkling of cinnamon. The possibilities are endless! But coffee is the traditional flavour, and it really compliments the whole “ball of chocolate.”

Red Pepper Hummus

I could very easily eat hummus for every meal. It is my standard lunch (with a tortilla wrap) and I bring it to any party I go to.

Of course, it took me forever for me to find tahini paste, and in the mean time I did a very lovely peanut version. But one day, in my local random Asian corner shop (we’ve all got one!) I stumble upon tahini paste (and cayenne pepper, and coconut oil.. *hyperventilates*). The clouds parted and my heart sang!

That is seriously how much I love hummus.

Have you ever tried to roast and peel a pepper? I have. It is doable but fiddly and pretty annoying. And that is where jarred roasted peppers come in.  Should be simply found in any supermarket, they are a lifesaver and make this recipe ridiculously easy. And you all know I love a quick recipe that I can then shove in my mouth.

Peanut Butter Hummus

Hello Nigella fans!

I’m not going to lie to you, when I first read the name of this recipe I felt it was akin to using meat from a jar, or deep-frying a Mars Bar. Maybe something other people did, but not in my kitchen.

Strike me down for my folly!

I love hummus and could live on it. Easily, live on it all day. My main issue with making my own is that I can’t seem to source tahini paste. Not to be foiled, I have made my own tahini paste before, but that didn’t turn out amazingly and left a grainy texture to the hummus.

So, I turn to alternatives. If you think about it tahini paste (sesame seeds and oil) isn’t too far from peanut butter. I write that confident in the knowledge that my home economics teacher isn’t reading.

I love the texture of this; light without being frothy, and chunky without being gritty. I whipped this bad boy up 30 minutes before a picnic, and it went down a storm with the boyfriend! A fridge staple from now on, perfect for lunches served with tortilla wraps or crisps, or chopped veg (hah!).

Of course, you can buy chickpeas dried and soak them overnight, but I rarely have the foresight, and the canned stuff tastes grand to me!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

These are so good I almost don’t want to share the recipe. 

They always turn out great – they taste amazing, texture is fantastic and everyone loves them. Plus, the recipe makes like a million cookies. These are the perfect way to get over the mid-week slump. Also great for the weekend, Monday, Christmas..

There are a few ways to prepare these, normally I form them into rough balls just using the spoon to shape the dough on the greaseproof paper. Alternatively, you can take a small amount of the cookie dough and form it into discs using your hands. The latter is easier, and forms rounder cookies but it is a bit messier. Whichever you prefer, people will eat these anyway. Looks don’t matter when they taste like little chocolate-nutty drops of happiness.

Sesame Noodles

These noodles are ridiculous. You will literally wonder why you have never eaten noodles this way before, and weep. They are also a total breeze to make, and go with about everything you can think of. Brilliantly, they can be eaten on their own as some kind of delicious dinnertime treat.

None of the ingredients should be hard to find, my local Asda had them all, and I use them regularly.

Dream noodles.