TOM KITCHIN
The top Scottish chef’s luxury grouse sausage rolls – the shooting season starts 12 August
Grouse sausage rolls
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy a sausage roll. Adding grouse to the filling is a really easy way to make it even better. These can be assembled up to one day before baking, but if you make them ahead don’t brush the surface with the egg wash until just before they go in the oven.
SERVES 8 PREP 50 mins COOK 30 mins MORE EFFORT
200g young grouse breasts, skinned and finely chopped
200g good quality sausage meat vegetable oil, for frying
30g wild mushrooms, such as girolles, ceps or oysters, trimmed and wiped
50g Parma ham, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
2 tbsp finely chopped cooked chestnuts 1 tbsp peeled and finely diced quince or apple
1 tsp thyme leaves
400g puff pastry plain flour, for dusting and rolling
1 egg yolk, beaten watercress sprigs or 1 green apple, to serve
1 Mix the grouse and sausage meat together in a bowl, then set aside.
2 Heat a well-seasoned sauté pan over a medium-high heat, then add a splash of oil.
Once it is hot, add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and sauté until they are tender and have absorbed the liquid they give off.
Tip them out of the pan and finely chop carefully. When they are cool, add to the bowl with the meat.
3 Heat a little more oil in the same pan over a high heat. Add the Parma ham and sauté for 1 min, then add the shallots, chestnuts, quince and thyme, and season. Sauté everything together, then set aside to cool.
4 Once the ingredients have cooled, add them to the meats and mix well by hand. Fry a small amount in a well-seasoned pan to taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
5 Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 40 x 30cm rectangle, then transfer it to a floured baking sheet that will fit in your fridge. Lightly flour your hands, then shape the sausage meat mixture into a long, even roll and place it along one long side of the pastry, about 1cm from the edge. Brush the edges with egg, then gently lift the remaining pastry over the sausage roll and press the edges together, using a floured fork to seal. Chill for at least 20 mins before baking.
6 Meanwhile, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Brush the long roll with the egg wash, then cut into eight equal portions. Transfer to the baking sheet and bake for 30 mins or until golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature, with watercress or apple, if you like. Tom will be joining Matt Tebbutt on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen on 2 September and will be appearing at the BBC Good Food Show in Glasgow, 21 and 22 October (bbcgoodfoodshow.com)