Monday, February 28, 2011

The Best Sausage Rolls


Not to be confused with the luke warm, dry and bland versions you pick up from convenience stores, these sausage rolls are packed with flavour.

An ideal party food, snack or quick lunch or dinner, sausage rolls are an easy crowd pleaser, easy to make at home – and better yet taste fantastic.

The recipe below makes 20 sausage rolls. This might seem like a lot, but when I make them I bake a quarter of them and wrap the others individually in foil to freeze.

To cook the frozen ones, simply un wrap and defrost, then and bake as normal.

Ingredients
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 rashes rindless bacon, finely chopped
1 chorizo, finely diced
500g mince beef
500g minced pork
2 tbs each flat leaf parsley, sage and rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbs tomato relish or ketchup, plus extra to serve
1 egg, beaten
½ cup dried breadcrumbs
5 frozen sheets puff pastry, thawed

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Combine the onion, garlic and bacon in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped, alternatively finely chop each ingredient seperately.

Transfer to a large mixing bowl along with the chorizo, minced meat, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, tomato relish, egg and breadcrumbs. Mix and season well.

Lay one sheet of pastry on a flat surface and cut in half. Form the sausage roll mince into

Cut each sheet of puff pastry in to 4 equal pieces. Take some of the sausage mince and form into roll 10cm log and 2-3 cm wide.

Lay the mince on an edge of the pastry and roll up until the pastry meats and overlaps a little. Lay on a lined baking trays seam side down.

Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.

Using a sharp knife make2-3 incisions to reveal a little mince.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until pastry is golden and meat is cooked through.

Serve hot with tomato relish.

Makes 20.

Bon Appetite

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Feta Banista





I love salty crumbly feta, I love greek creamy yogurt, I love flaky buttery pastry and above all I love trying and cooking something new.

Banista is a Bulgarian dish that ticks all the above. It is a traditional dish made up of rolled up filo pastry filled with beaten eggs, feta and yoghurt. These are layered in a spiral pattern in a large round baking tin and cooked.

Serve Banista for any meal as it is done in Bulgaria.

Ingredients

4 eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon baking soda
500g Greek style yogurt
250g feta cheese
100g butter, melted
10 -12 sheets filo pastry
200g milk

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Beat the eggs and baking soda, then add the crumbed feta and yoghurt. Season and set aside.

Lightly brush a 30cm round deep pizza pan or cake tin wit butter.

Take one sheet and lightly brush with butter. Spread a thin layer of feta filling over the filo pastry and roll up into a rope like shape. Make sure not to over fill otherwise the filo will crack.

Roll the the filo rope into a spiral and place in the centre of the buttered pizza tin. Repeat with remaining filo pastry and continue to form the spiral.

Pour over the milk and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Serve warm or cold for breakfast lunch and dinner.

Serves 8-12.

Bon Appetite