Prawn Salad with Avocado & Mango SalsaPrint Recipe

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Michelle

 

One of the many things I miss about Australia is its mangos and although I have trekked to farmers markets and far off regions of the US in order to source them, I cannot find any that compare. The flavour of mango’s in Australia is a deep one, and they are also juicy, even when they are not overly ripe – so juicy in fact, that it is best to eat them in the bath.

Having said that, I still rejoice when mangos hit the market shelves – they are one of my most favourite fruits and for that reason this is one of my most favourite Summer salads.

Super sweet mango’s are certainly a pre-requisite, the avocado’s should be ripe but firm and the prawns are best fresh. I have also included a recipe for a 70’s style cocktail sauce which is nice drizzled through or served on the side. The combination of mango, avocado and prawns is a great one with each ingredient complimenting one another – it is the perfect salad to showcase the best of Summer’s produce.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 ripe mangos, diced to cubes
2 ripe avocado, diced to cubes
500 grams/1 pound cooked king prawns (shrimp), deveined and shelled
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
1 lemon, quartered

Dressing
140 ml thick good-quality mayonnaise
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh horseradish
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Dash of Tabasco sauce

Place all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined, refrigerate until needed.

Divide prawns, avocado, mango and most of the cilantro leaves (set aside some for garnish) evenly amongst 4 plates. Squeeze a little lemon juice over and drizzle with the dressing, scatter with remaining cilantro leaves and diced red onion and serve with the remaining dressing on the side.

Yield: serves 4 as a starter

Notes: To cook the prawns you can either stir fry (2-6 minutes, according to size), grill or barbecue (3-4 minutes each side) or poach  (3-10 minutes, according to size). Keeping the shell on during the cooking process will ensure a more flavourful prawn.

Posted in Salads, Seafood, Sides, Starters | 10 Comments

Black Forest GateauxPrint Recipe

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Michelle

 

I made this Black Forest Gateaux at the request of one of my good friends, Sandra. I love Sandra and she loves the combination of fruit and cake and asked me to whip this up – of course I was more than happy to oblige.

I met Sandra about 15 years ago, we worked together for a man who was more David Brent (The Office) than David Brent. Consequently we got up to a little mischief – like hiding his ‘big man’ office chair and replacing it with a standard chair and erasing/replacing one digit from the phone numbers in his pencil-scrawled little black book – amongst many other things. It probably sounds ridiculous but so were the requests of his staff – on one occasion he asked his assistant to clean the cactus in his office with a toothbrush…

So, to the gateaux! It is a divine combination of the most chocolately of cakes, a layer of luscious ganache, a cherry compote with a good dash of kirch, lashings and lashings of whipped cream and a scattering of fresh cherries – what’s not too like?

Whilst the temptation is there to make it the 4 layer deluxe version, the cake itself is very soft and I felt it would not hold the cherries and cream too well if I went any higher. I also opted for a plainer look rather than decorating with cream swirls and  chocolate shavings – I like ‘plain’ and it’s more my style.

Sandra, when you visit next year I will make this for you. As for David (his real name shall remain anonymous) – he was a man of the 80’s (as his hair would attest), I met him in the late 90’s and he was crazy, so I cannot even imagine how he has evolved or how he is torturing his staff these days – a scary thought indeed!

Chocolate Cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350f. Grease and line the bottoms of two 9″ round springform cake tins.

In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the beaten eggs, vegetable oil, and milk. Gently mix on low for a minute then pour in the dry ingredients – continue mixing on low until well combined.

Pour the boiling water into the batter and mix until smooth and divide the batter between the two cake tins.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer (or toothpick) inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes before removing from tin, let cakes cool completely on a rack.

Dark Chocolate Ganache
113 grams/4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
85 grams/3 ounces heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoons butter

Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside. In a saucepan, heat the cream and butter just until simmering. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute and then whisk the cream into the chocolate until smooth.

Spread the ganache on top of one of the cooled chocolate cakes and leave to set for a couple of hours.

Dark Cherry Filling
400 grams/14 ounces dark cherries
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch, sifted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon kirsch or brandy

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix, then let sit for at least half an hour. Spoon the mixture into a saucepan over medium heat and stir slowly until it begins to become almost jammy (it thickens) and the cherries start to break up a little (around 10 – 15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Mascarpone Whipped Cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 cups manufacturing cream, or heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine the mascarpone cheese and cream in a bowl. Whip until it thickens and holds a little shape (soft peak stage). Add the powdered sugar to the cream, continue whipping just until you reach stiff peaks. Refrigerate until required but do not leave it too long (1/2 hour maximum).

Assembly
Take the ganache topped cake and spread with a thick layer of the marscapone cream, top this with the cherry mixture and place the second layer of the cake on top.

Cover the top of the cake with the remaining cream. Decorate with fresh cherries or chocolate shavings if you wish and store in the refrigerator.

Posted in Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Fruit | 6 Comments

Toasted Grains with Labne & HerbsPrint Recipe

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Michelle

I can imagine this salad would be well recieved being served for dinner at a health farm. It is so full of grains and goodness that it would have all those pumped up people doing cartwheels and jumping for joy. Having said that, it is as packed full of flavour as it is energy delivering nutrients, so absolutely anyone can enjoy it.

The mixture of grains deliver quite a nutty taste, this is livened with the lemon juice, dried apricots and sultanas. The labne is a deliciously different accompaniament and it is followed by a scattering of baby herbs which make it a lovely looking dish (as you can see I couldn’t get my hands on any baby herbs so chopped parsely had to suffice).

With fish tacos followed by this salad, it may appear I am changing tact with my cooking – well I am not and to prove it I am in the midst of planning my Black Forest Cake for tomorrow and for later on in the week, a chocolate ice cream that is so dense and rich, it still retains it’s shape when it melts – don’t go away!

Ingredients
200 grams/7 ounces spelt (wheat berries) grain
100 grams/3.5 ounces faro
100 grams/3.5 ounces small green lentils
200 grams/7 ounces quinoa
100 grams/3.5 ounces coarse burghul
½ cup raw almonds, coarsely chopped
½ cup sultanas (raisins), coarsely chopped
½ cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
80 ml extra-virgin olive oil
50 ml lemon juice, or to taste
½ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
150 grams/5.3 ounces labne (see note)
To serve: baby herbs and dukkah

Dry-roast spelt and faro in a frying pan until nutty and fragrant (1-2 minutes), then cook in boiling water, with lentils, until tender (15-20 minutes), drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook quinoa in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes, add burhgul, cook for another minute, drain well and refresh under cold running water. Drain well and add to spelt mixture.

Add almonds, dried fruit, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley, season to taste and toss to combine, then serve scattered with labne, baby herbs and dukkah.

Notes: Spelt grain, faro and quinoa are available from select health-food shops and delicatessens. Labne, a drained yoghurt cheese usually stored in oil, is available from select delicatessens. Alternatively, if you have time, place thick natural yogurt in a fine sieve placed over a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight to drain. Scoop quenelles and serve.

Source: Circa via Australian Gourmet Traveller

Posted in Salads, Sides, Vegetarian | 1 Comment

Grilled Fish TacosPrint Recipe

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Michelle

These fish tacos would have to be one of the healthiest and freshest fast foods I have ever made. Imagine some perfectly grilled fish, seasoned with lime, a scattering of pico de gallo (tomato salsa), a dollop of guacamole and mayonnaise (if you will), all wrapped in a warm tortilla – sounds great and it is!

Every Friday used to be Pizza Friday in our household, I know Taco Friday doesn’t have the same ring but these fish tacos certainly make the grade and the great thing is, you don’t get the cheesy greasies. My big issue is that I have to switch from a glass of (my beloved) red to a Corona – but I think I can live with that.

Pico De Gallo
3 perfectly ripe tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons coriander, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, season to taste with sea salt and refrigerate for at least two hours to allow flavours to intensify.

Guacamole
2 avocado, coarsely chopped
1 tomato, skin and seeds removed and finely chopped
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped coriander
sea salt to taste

Coarsely mash avocado, mix through the remainder of the ingredients carefuly with a fork, season with sea salt and set aside.

Fish Tacos
400 grams firm fresh skinless white-fleshed fish fillets, cut into long strips approx 1 inch x 3 inches
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
8 soft corn or wheat tortillas
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
½ cup mayonnaise (or spicey mayonnaise – see note)

Whisk the lime juice and olive oil together, pour over the fish and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Fire up the barbecue or a grill pan over a high heat and grill, turning once, until just cooked (8-10 minutes).

Toast tortillas on the barbecue, until warmed slightly (around 1 minute on each side). Set out all the components and let your guests roll their own taco or serve them pre-made with the grilled fish, red cabbage, guacamole, a squeeze of mayo and a sprinkle of the pico de gallo. Eat immediately.

Yield: Makes 8 tacos.

And for those of you that want the chili mayonnaise….

Chili Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon of chili sauce (or more if you wish)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (once again – you can use more)
a sprinkle of salt and a dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well, store in your refrigerator.

Posted in Barbeques/Grilling, Seafood, Starters | Leave a comment

Lime & Blackberry Meringue PiePrint Recipe

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Michelle

 

With its gorgeous combination of citrus and berries, this pie has ‘sweet, sweet Summer’ written all over it. The recipe arrived on my doorstep last week – on the cover of the most recent Bon Appetit magazine. I have made some changes, like using my own compote recipe, pie crust recipe and meringue recipe but aside from that, it is the celebrated dessert that is gracing their current issue.

There are numerous steps to this pie and quite a bit of chilling time, I know it sounds like a labour of love (and to be quite honest it is!) but I made the different components over two days so in the end it was relatively stress free (but still time consuming).

The result is a light and fluffy, subtly lime-flavoured pie with a burst of sweet blackberry and a crowning glory of toasted meringue. And whilst the many steps to get this result became irritating (it was the heat), the result was totally worth it, I can now enjoy my Summer pie and kick back (Mr Man has promised to do the dishes when he gets home from work!).

Pastry Shell
1 1/4 cups plain (all purpose) flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
113 grams/4 ounces unsalted butter, very cold

Set aside 1 cup of ice cold water. Whisk together flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces.

Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with your pastry blender or a fork (or knife), working all parts evenly. Stop when the mixture has a crumb the size of peas.

Pour half the water over the butter and flour mixture and using a spatula, gather the dough together. Gradually add more water, a tablespoon at a time until you have large clumps of dough. Then use your hands to bring the dough together and form it into a disk, place on a large piece of plastic wrap, wrap and chill for at least two hours.

Heavily flour your work surface and place the chilled dough in the centre. Flour the top of your dough and the rolling pin and roll the dough from the centre out, rotating in a circular motion so you get an even (ish) round of dough forming. Cut to a 13″ round.

Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang and place back in your fridge for a further 30 minutes at least.

Line pastry with baking paper, fill with pastry weights or rice and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove paper and rice and bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes or until golden. Remove and cool to room temperature.

Lime Curd
1 cup fresh lime juice
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams/4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup chilled heavy cream

Set a strainer over a medium bowl; set aside. Stir lime juice, eggs, egg yolks, and sugar together in another medium bowl. Set bowl over a large saucepan of gently simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water). Whisk until mixture has thickened, the whisk leaves a path when lifted from curd, for about 15 minutes. Add butter to curd, one Tbsp. at a time, whisking to blend between additions. Strain curd into prepared bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd. Chill until cold, about 2 hours (may be made up to two days ahead – keep refrigerated).

Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl – let stand until gelatin is soft, about 10 minutes. Using an electric mixer, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add gelatin mixture; continue beating cream until just before firm peaks form. Fold whipped cream into lime curd. Cover and chill till pie assembly.

Blackberry Compote
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 cups fresh blackberries plus 1 cup for decoration

Bring water, sugar and juice to a boil in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup.

Purée 1 cup blackberries with all of syrup in a blender. Force purée through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove seeds. Stir the remaining berries into sauce. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use (this also can be made a day in advance).

Italian Meringue
120 grams/4.2 ounces caster (superfine) sugar
3 eggwhites
Pinch of cream of tartar

Combine sugar and 120 mls of water in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves.

Reduce heat to medium and brush down sides of pan with a clean, wet pastry brush to remove sugar crystals. Cook until syrup reaches 115C (soft ball stage) on a thermometer (10-15 minutes).

Start whisking eggwhites with cream of tartar in the clean, grease-free bowl of an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Meanwhile, bring sugar syrup to 121C (hard ball stage). Increase speed to high and with motor running, gradually pour syrup into meringue. Beat at medium speed until cooled to room temperature and meringue is thick and glossy (15-20 minutes).

Assembly
Spoon blackberry compote across the base of the pie shell. Pour over the lime curd and even out with an off set spatula.

Spoon meringue over lime curd, leaving a 1″ plain border, and sculpt decoratively. Tuck 1 cup berries in and around meringue.

Bake pie until meringue is toasted in spots, 3-5 minutes (or use a kitchen torch to brown). Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Pie can be made 3 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Source: Bon Appetit, August 2011

Posted in Desserts, Fruit | 7 Comments

Sage & Brown Butter MadeleinesPrint Recipe

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Michelle

 

Madeleines seem to be popping up everywhere in my life – I have had them at morning teas, had them passed to me at picnics and more recently, a small parcel of them were given to me as an apology – from a waiter who split some wine down the front of my dress (a little odd but sweet nonetheless).

It is very hard to resist such a pretty thing too – these small, dainty cakes in the shape of a shell that are more often flavoured with lemon or occasionally orange-blossom water. Buttery and soft, with a lightly crisp exterior, they make the perfect small treat to have with your cup of tea or in my case to give a wine soaked patron at your restaurant.

After purchasing my first madeleine mould this morning I thought hard about what flavour I would like to make and savoury came to mind. I love the combination of brown butter and sage so that is what I went with.

These particular madeleines also have polenta and parmesan giving them a heartier texture but they still delicious, and perfect with a glass of champagne or chilled white wine.

Ingredients
30 grams of butter
16 sage leaves (4 large sage leaves for infusing and 12 small for decorating purposes)
⅓ cup instant polenta
2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
¼ teaspoon baking soda, sifted
½ cup finely grated parmesan
sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 egg
⅓ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 180c/355f.

To brown the butter, melt it in a small saucepan over moderate heat until just starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the 4 sage leaves to the saucepan and fry until crisp, about another 1 minute. Discard the sage leaves and set the butter aside.

Combine the flour, polenta, bicarbonate of soda, parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the egg and buttermilk and finally the brown butter and stir gently until smooth. Try hard not to overmix the mixture otherwise your madeleines will have air bubbles (like mine).

Lightly grease 12 large madeleine moulds and place a sage leaf vertically in the base of each one. Spoon the polenta mixture on top of the sage leaves and bake for 8–10 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Turn out onto a wire rack- they are best eaten slightly warm but still great at room temperature.

Yield: 12 large Madeleines or 24 -30 small madeleines. 

Notes: The brown butter is infused with sage and give the madeleines a delicate sage flavour, so if you prefer not to have the extra ‘bite’ of sage that the decorative leaf gives, then feel free to omit it.

Posted in Biscuits/Cookies/Slices/Bars, Nibbles & hors d'oeuvres, Picnic Food | 2 Comments

Insalata CapresePrint Recipe

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Michelle

 

I have been known to purchase produce purely for aesthetic purposes – I love big bowls of fruit in my kitchen or on my sideboard, particularly platters of botticelli-like pears and bowls of heirloom tomatoes. The shapes and colours of some fruit and vegetables can be as beautiful as flowers.

Over the last couple of weeks I had been eyeing Summers bountiful supply of tomatoes, looking so luscious and red (and green and yellow and black too). The perfectly ripe rounds (and not so rounds) have had me pondering how I do them justice – aside from having them displayed in my home as ‘art’.

As with all good produce, ‘simplicity’ is the key – in the case of an Isalata Caprese, the quality of the produce is also tantemount to the outcome of the dish. You want the best olive oil you can get your hands on, perfectly fragrant basil, the freshest buffalo mozzarella and, of course, tomatoes that are burstingly ripe and as glorious in taste as they are in texture.

From there it is all pretty simple really, ensure your ingredients are at room temperature, slice the tomatoes and mozzarella, tear the basil, drizzle the olive oil and scatter some sea salt – that’s it! Pure, simple, beautiful and great with some crusty bread.

Ingredients
1 kilo/2 pounds perfectly ripe tomatoes (any shape or colour)
2 buffalo mozzarella (about 250gm each), thickly sliced
½ cup (loosely packed) basil, coarsely torn
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
To serve: crusty bread (optional)

Arrange tomato and mozzarella on a serving platter, scatter with basil, drizzle with olive oil and season to taste. Serve with crusty bread if you wish.

Yield: serves 6 as a starter

Notes: If you cannot get your hand on buffalo mozzarella then use ordinary fresh mozzarella/boccocini.

Posted in Picnic Food, Salads, Sides, Starters, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 1 Comment

Blueberry Crumb CakePrint Recipe

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Michelle

 

Oh boring – another tender cake peppered with blueberrys and topped with a crisp, buttery crumble. A crumb cake to have with my morning coffee after weeks of eating fruit. Well I tell you, it’s about time. I have been eating my way through the spoils of Summer and I have had enough. And it may seem a crime to bake with blueberries when they are at their best but I have been craving cake for the last couple of weeks – until today, when I made this.

Enjoyed with coffee mid-morning and a scoop of vanilla ice cream after dinner – being versatile and scrumptious,  it totally hit the spot!

Crumb
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/3 cup plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (measured after chopped)

Place the sugars, flour, salt and walnuts in a bowl and combine with a fork. Add the butter and mix through with the fork until crumbs form and place in the refrigerator until needed.

Cake
188 grams unsalted butter
270 grams sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
3 eggs
150 grams sour cream
225 grams plain flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
180 grams blueberries

Preheat your oven to 190c/380f and grease and line a 9 inch square cake tin.

Whisk the room temperature butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind until it is creamy and pale. Add one egg at a time, whisking briefly after each addition. Add the flour and sour cream alternately in 2 batches.

Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle the blueberries over the top, pushing them lightly into the cake batter. Pour over the crumble and spread evenly over the top.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes and remove from the oven onto a cooling rack once the cake is golden brown.

Yield: 16 pieces

Posted in Biscuits/Cookies/Slices/Bars, Cakes, Fruit, Morning Teas/High Teas, Picnic Food | 1 Comment

Shaved Asparagus, Parmesan & Lemon PastaPrint Recipe

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Michelle

It is Saturday and the weather is wonderful. We have been running around town with my in-laws and have hardly stopped to catch our breath. We have also missed lunch and are starving.

One of our adventures included a trip down to the Union Square Farmers Markets where I purchased a week’s supply of fruit and veg – and for us, this is alot. I thought a quick and easy pasta would suit a late lunch and give us the energy to do it all again.

Shaved asparagus, lemon and parmesan are a no-brainer when it comes to a marriage of flavours – toss them together with some angel hair pasta, a few toasted pine nuts and some freshly ground black pepper and you have yourself a light and refreshing tangle of a meal.

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend – we are now off to the Victoria Gardens Amusement Park to go on the Fun Slide, it is all happening today folks! 

Ingredients
226 grams/8 ounces angel hair pasta
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
280 grams/10 ounces of asparagus, rinsed
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons of good olive oil
3 ounces Parmesan, shaved
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring some water to the boil and cook the angel hair pasta until al dente. Remove from stove and drain.

Whilst the pasts is cooking, shave the asparagus using a vegetable peeler. It is best to use a Y shaped peeler if you have one and hold the asparagus (stalk on it’s side on a cutting board) down at the bottom of the stem and shave towards the tip. Discard the tips when you have finished.

Place the cooked pasta in a bowl, pour over lemon juice, olive oil and finely chopped parsley and mix. Then gently toss through asparagus, parmesan and pine nuts. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

Yeild: Serves 4

Notes: To toast pine nuts I place them in a skillet on the stove top and cook them over a medium heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally – do not make the mistake of multi-tasking whilst this is happening – I have burnt so many of these precious nuts doing just that.

Posted in Lemons, Pasta/Noodles, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Sausage RollsPrint Recipe

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Michelle

 

I don’t eat sausage rolls too often but when I do, to say I enjoy them would be an understatement. Sadly they are not widely available in the USA so I have been making my own to compensate for any cravings.

Some of the best sausage rolls I have eaten have been late at night, from a 7/11, on my way home from dancing the night away (many, many moons ago) – so I wanted to keep them real and not too rustic.

The garlic powder, soy sauce and tomato paste give them that moorish flavour that make a sausage roll taste so good, whilst the combination of beef and pork mince really enhance the meat mixture. They also contain a little carrot and onion for those of you who are interested in the ‘healthy’ part. And that’s where the healthy part ends because they are rolled in puff pastry which essentially makes the sausage roll, a sausage roll – and so darn good.

If you are not from the UK or Australia it is likely you have not had the pleasure – all the more reason for you to add them to your ‘to cook’ list – they would make a great ‘big game’ snack.

  Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, finely grated
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
2 tablespoons tomato paste
500 grams/17 ounces beef mince
250 grams/9 ounces pork mince
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs plus extra for coating (1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Egg-wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons of milk)
Puff pastry (approx 4 sheets but will vary depending on the size of your sausage rolls)

Preheat oven to 200c/390f.

Lightly fry carrot and onion in oil until onion is translucent (around 5 minutes).  Remove from heat and stir through the dried herbs, garlic powder and tomato paste.

In a large bowl combine beef mince, pork mince, breadcrumbs, eggs, soy sauce and hot carrot/onion mixture. Roll the mixture into logs with a diameter of approximately 1 inch (not too thick because they will expand as they cook) and coat each roll in extra breadcrumbs.

Brush puff pastry with egg wash and roll log in puff pastry, allowing a 1 cm overlap, and trim off the excess. Arrange the sausage roll on the baking tray with the seam side underneath – along the centre.

Brush the sausage rolls lightly in egg wash and cut to size (I like mine in 3 inch lengths). Bake for 20-25 minutes and serve hot with tomato sauce (ketchup) and mustard.

Source: adapted from Fast Ed on Better Homes and Gardens.

Posted in Meat, Nibbles & hors d'oeuvres, Picnic Food, Tarts/Flans/Quiches/Pies | 4 Comments