Homemade British Sausage Rolls

This season we craved a taste of London, so I am proud to share a successful experiment in The Classic British Sausage Roll: herby meaty bits of porky deliciousness, encased in a flaky buttery puff pastry!

It sounds unusual, but some grated lemon zest really turned out to be the secret ingredient to lift and lighten what can sometimes be an overly stodgy treat. I learned the trick online, and I can't recommend it enough. Herbwise I stuck with the classic combo of sage and thyme (and the household highly approved), but feel free to play around with whatever aromatics you see fit. You can also use store bought puff pastry if you're too lazy to make the dough from scratch. Both the filling and pastry can be made a day or two ahead of time.

They're rich, hearty, and quite possibly the best savoury party bites ever. Merry Christmas and happy eating this holiday season everyone! :)

Homemade British Sausage Rolls
Makes about 40 bitesize pieces (*Feel free to make large individual portions if you like. Adjust cooking times accordingly and bear in mind the pastry will puff up.)

• Filling (you can make this several days in advance for the flavours to intensify):

Stir together in a bowl or mush in a ziplock bag to marinate:
1 1/2 lbs minced pork (*I asked my butcher to grind up a piece of pork loin. You can also use shoulder or ready-bought sausagemeat. Some recipes suggest pork belly or adding some streaky bacon... personally I think this would be too fatty)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh chopped sage leaves (roughly a handful)
Roughly 2 tbsp fresh thyme (about 16 sprigs- I usually just run my hand down the stem and pull the leaves off instead of chopping)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and black pepper to taste

Like herby pork Play Doh :)

• Puff pastry

Toss together in a large bowl (*the colder all your ingredients are, the better. It can help to put this whole bowl into the freezer briefly):
2 sticks (230g) very cold butter, diced into cubes
2 cups plain flour
Pinch of salt

Gradually add 1/2 cup ice cold water bit by bit, stirring slowly with a butter knife until incorporated and kneadable (not too sticky). Press with your hands into a rough dough ball (the butter cubes will still be visible) and cling wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 mins or overnight.

To bake:

Have 1 beaten egg and some flour on standby. Preheat your oven to 425 F (220 C).

Place the rested dough ball on a well-floured surface, dust the top with more flour (I like to cover it with a sheet of cling wrap to ease clean up) and roll out slightly into a disc. Fold in the edges to form a square, flip it over and roll out into a large rectangle about 0.5 cm thin.

Cut the dough into 4 strips. Working with one piece at a time, roll each dough strip out longer and thinner if necessary. Squeeze a quarter of the meat into a long log with your hands (beware sexual innuendoes from cheeky roommates) and place in the centre of the pastry. Brush one edge with some water or egg wash, and roll it up snugly. 

Cut into about 10 pieces. Arrange on a baking tray.  Repeat with the other 3 strips of pastry and the rest of the meat.

Make a slit or several on top of each piece with a knife (to allow steam to escape). You can also prick with a fork.

Brush each piece with some egg wash.

Bake at 425 F (220C) for 25-30 mins until golden brown and crisp. The oil from the pork may ooze and bubble- don't worry, it's meant to happen :)

Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Serve warm, with some good ol' HP brown sauce if you wanna be really pukka :) Enjoy!

Really Easy Dark Gingernuts/ Ginger Snaps

The holiday season calls for spice and all things nice, so here I present a great basic recipe for a British classic that will have your home smelling like Christmas in no time! :)

Crunchy, buttery and surprisingly easy, these delicious gingernut biscuits (or ginger snaps as they are known Stateside) are just the right snappy texture and flavour, starting warm and robust in your mouth then gradually melting into a pleasant fragrant sweetness as you chew. They will also take you less than an hour from start to finish (great for last-minute plans!), require no machinery at all and are endlessly adaptable to your personal taste.

I stirred in some black treacle for a deeper darker flavour, but feel free to omit this and use all golden syrup if you prefer the normal version. You can also use honey, molasses, dark brown sugar, more or less ginger and other spices if desired.

Happy baking and happy holidays y'all, may you have a joyous food-filled 2014 ahead!:)

Really Easy Dark Gingernuts/ Ginger Snaps

Makes 30 tasty biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.

Melt 1 stick (about 100g) butter in a pot on the stove, or in a large bowl in the microwave.

Remove butter from heat and stir in:

1/2 cup (about 100g) soft light brown sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup (if you don't have it, substitute with honey)

2 tbsp black treacle (substitute with all golden syrup/honey if preferred)

My trusty red can of Tate & Lyle that a friend 

brought from London. Thanks Jasmine!:)

Sift in and stir until well-combined:

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground ginger (more if you like it strong!)

Optional: Dash of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice or even black pepper if you're inclined

Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into a ball with your hands. Place on baking sheet well spaced out, and press down slightly to flatten.

Bake 15-20 mins. Remove from oven and allow to cool til hardened.

Enjoy dunked in a cuppa!

Spiced Chocolate Chip Shortbread

HELLO AGAIN after two months dear foodies- yes, I am alive and eating still!

Firstly my sincerest apologies for my long absence- this course at the Actors Studio Drama School is as intense and all-consuming as its notorious reputation, leaving me no time to sleep let alone cook, photograph the results and blog as often as I would like. In fact, what I should be doing right now instead of writing this is study for our final Theatre History exam taking place in 3 days, but given the infectious Christmas air in New York, the deliciousness of these buttery morsels and my desire to end the neglect of this space ASAP, the sharing of this recipe has pushed its way to the top of my priority list.

The following is not an original creation but my twist on many other recipes I compared online- as a huge fan of shortbread I have to admit the results are everything shortbread should be: fragrant, crunchy yet melt-in-the-mouth, indulgent yet moreish, sweet yet salty and studded generously throughout with rich hits of dark chocolate. I have added 2 tsp of mixed spice and cut them into pretty shapes to inject some holiday spirit into it all, but if you prefer you can always omit the spice and slice into traditional bars.

Be sure to leave enough time for the butter to soften in advance and the dough to chill for 2 hours before baking.

Happy holidays!

Spiced Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Makes about 30 chunky pieces (my cookie cutters were about 2 1/2 inches long)

Whisk on medium speed with an electric mixer (or blend in a food processor) until smooth:

225g/2 sticks butter, at room temperature* (do NOT substitute with margarine)

85g (2/3 cup) icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*Tip- getting the butter soft first is essential if you're using a handheld whisk. If you forgot to take it out of the fridge early, stick to a food processor as the blades easily cut through hard butter anyway.

Fold in using a spatula (or pulse gently in a food processor) until a pliable dough is formed:

300g (2 cups) plain flour (or more if your dough is still sticky)

1 tsp mixed spice

Fold in roughly 125g (3/4 cup) dark chocolate chips.

Press the whole lot of dough into a large bowl, cover the surface completely with cling wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To bake:

1) Find a clean hard surface to roll your dough on (I place a sheet of cling film-usually the one that was covering the dough in the fridge-on my kitchen countertop). If you're lucky enough to have a marble table or worktop that is already clean, you can of course skip the plastic wrap.

2) Lightly dust the surface with some flour.

3) Using a spatula or a big metal spoon, scoop out a large mound of dough onto the floured surface. If you have the luxury of a spacious counter top, you can of course roll the entire amount of dough out at once- my kitchen is tiny so I find small sections at a time more manageable.

4) Pat the dough down firmly with your hands (a rolling pin is not needed but use one if you like) until it forms an even disk about 1/2 inch thick, dusting with a bit more flour if necessary. Cut into shapes using a knife or a cutter and arrange onto a cookie tray.

5) Gather all the leftover bits of dough into a ball, add another mound of dough and repeat step 4 until all the batter is used up.

Bake for 20 mins at 160 C/ 325F until pale golden, rotating the trays halfway so they brown evenly.

If desired, dust with icing sugar whilst the cookies are still warm for a snowy effect. Let cool.

Delight your friends with these homemade gifts, or proceed to stuff your face!:)