Chicken (Sausage) Roll - easy

Oven: 180/190 deg. C
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 pack (approx.8) chicken sausages (I used Marks & Spencer's)
Remove the skins and discard, and place the sausagemeat in a mixing bowl.
Then ....
1 chopped leek (white part)
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 Spring Onion - (peeled) chopped
handful of pinenuts
Saute the above in about a tablespoon of oil and a knob of butter, until the leeks/onions are softened, cool, then add to sausagemeat, with
Handful of chopped fresh corriander
some grated lemon zest (optional)
2 apples - peeled and chopped
Mix together well.

Pastry:
8ozs. Self-raising flour (or Plain Flour + 1 large tsp of baking powder)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 - 1 tsp. dried Basil
Pinch of dried Thyme
4 fl.ozs. Sunflower Oil
Plus enough cold water to make a nice dough - add a couple of tablespoons of water at a time.

Mix all the dough ingredients together (food processor is fine), 
Bring the dough together and roll into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  
Grease a flat baking tray, and move the dough carefully on to this.
Place the Filling along the centre of the rectangle, fold in the short side pieces, and bring up the long sides to cover, and pinch together.
Glaze with a beaten egg, and sprinkle some Sesame Seeds on top, if fancied.
Using a skewer, make a few holes in the pastry top, (in a pattern - maybe 3 each side) -

Bake for 1/2 - 3/4 hr. - check to see if nicely browned and you may see the filling bubbling through.
Leave to cool or get cold - I think this is nicer eaten cold.
Serve sliced with mustard and a lovely green dressed salad.

Great for a picnic, or just grazing from the fridge at weekends :)
I wrap mine in greaseproof paper and foil, and it keeps well in the fridge for a good few days.

Sausage Plate Pie - very quick and easy

this makes a change from just cooking the sausages normally, and makes a nice light meal with a good salad

Ingredients for plate-pie filling:
1lb. (approx.500g.) good quality sausages - I used Paul Rankin's Pork Sausages -
slit the skins and take out the sausagemeat, discarding the skins.
1 shallot or small onion peeled and chopped
Herbes de Provence or mixed herbs - to taste
little black pepper
1 med. beaten egg - keep a tiny bit back to glaze the pastry
handful of porridge oats - enough to make the mixture not too sticky
*
Squish everything together well with your hands :) - set aside -


Pastry:
6ozs. SR Flour plus
2 ozs. Gram Flour (or just 8 ozs. SR Flour)
pinch of salt
4 ozs. hard margarine (or butter)
2 ozs. white vegetable fat such as Trex
approx. 6-9 tblspns. of cold water
small amount of cornmeal or semolina

'Crumb' fat, flours and salt in your food processor
Add the cold water and whizz until the pastry comes together nicely
Cut the pastry ball in half
Grease your plate and roll the pastry out on a floured surface to size for the pie base - overlapping the plate, prick with a fork and sprinkle a small mount of cornmeal over.
Place the filling in, pressing down lightly, roll out a lid, place on top, and trim off the excess pastry and crimp - if fancied.

Press together with a fork around the edges, or crimp.

Leave to chill in the fridge for about 1/2 hr.
Brush with a little beaten egg and bake until golden for approx. 35 mins at 190 C.

*Idea: this is also lovely if you quarter and core an apple,  slice it very thinly and place a layer on the pastry base, then over the sausage mix, (then the pastry lid) - the apple goes beautifully with the pork.

This is very nice eaten warm or cold.

Sausage, Roasted Onions and Mash - simple comfort food

I'm afraid I didn't think to take a photo of this when I made it, (photo above isn't mine), - but this good old British staple is always delicious and easy & quick to make. I roast my onions so it's also good, particularly if you dont like peeling & chopping them .........

Ingredients: quantity below serves 2

Good Pork Sausages - 6

2 white onons - unpeeled

2 red onions - unpeeled

little olive oil, seasoning

Good mashed potatoes.

Preheat Oven to approx. 190/200 C.

Separate your sausages and place them in a roasting tin with a little water in the bottom.

Bake them for approx. 30 mins (until golden and cooked through).

You can double-foil-line your roasting dish - then you might not have too much trouble washing it up afterwards! :)

Roasted Onions:
Place unpeeled onions in 2 sheets of foil in your roasting dish
Pour a little olive oil over each one, and add a small amount of water
a Sprinkle of sugar if wanted -
Parcel them up and baste occasionally - roast till cooked through. (Test with a skewer).

I then open the parcel, cut the onions (carefully as they're hot!) in halves and either leave them for a little longer in the oven to slightly caramelise or put them under the grill.
Cooking them in foil also saves a bit more grungy washing up!

While the sausages are baking, make your Mashed Potatoes, adding a good knob of butter and a little warm milk - if wanted.

If your sausages aren't cooked yet, put the mash into an ovenproof dish with a knob of butter and a thin layer of milk on top and leave in the oven until ready to use.

When all is done - carefully peel the outer skins from the onions, plate up your mash, sausages on top and roasted onions on the side - with the added juices ............ yum!
(Serve with nice green salad + vinaigrette).

The Sausage Experience!

Well, I had a go and think life may be too short to spend time making sausages!

I bought a manual mincer, which means it needs two people to complete the operation. One at one end, pushing the meat through, and someone taking care of things at the other end!

The sausage casing, although actually quite strong, has an unpleasant feel about it, and is fiddly to initially open it up. If you're a knitter you'll probably enjoy this - it's a bit like unravelling yarn - but slightly tackier!

I have ended up with some nice looking sausages - which actually look like real sausages - but the whole operation was quite fiddly - - - - - shall probably give it another go anyway!