Sausage rolls

Who doesn’t love a sausage roll? And they’re never better than wrapped in flaky all-butter puff pastry; we like to use Carême if we don’t make our own. We bake these sausage rolls on a wire rack covered with a sheet of baking paper that’s pierced to allow the fat to drip away from the pastry. These can be made ahead, cut into portions and frozen, ready to bake when the mood takes you.

Prep time 20 mins, cook 1½ hrs (plus standing)

Serves 6-8 (pictured p122)

1 heaped tsp coriander seeds

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

80 gm crustless white sourdough bread, crumbled and soaked in 1 tbsp milk 590 gm minced beef

1 butter puff pastry sheet (375gm) 1 egg, lightly beaten

Smoked capsicum sauce

60 gm smoked almonds

2 red capsicum

4-6 small red chillies

2 tsp olive oil

140 gm cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp caster sugar

2 tsp sherry vinegar

½ tsp smoked paprika 1 For smoked capsicum sauce, preheat oven to 200C. Place almonds in a heatproof bowl, cover with 130ml boiling water and stand for 10 minutes to soften, then drain. Combine capsicum and chillies in a roasting pan with oil, toss to coat and roast until capsicum is golden brown and tender (30-35 minutes). Add tomatoes to pan and roast until golden brown and tender (15-16 minutes).

Set aside to cool briefly, then peel capsicum, remove seeds and transfer to a blender. Blend with remaining ingredients until smooth, then season to taste.

2 Meanwhile, for sausage filling, dry-roast seeds and peppercorns in a frying pan over high heat until fragrant (1-2 minutes; see cook’s notes p177). Cool briefly, then finely pound with a mortar and pestle, and reserve. Heat olive oil in same frying pan over medium heat, add onion and fry gently until softened and translucent (10-12 minutes), then transfer to a bowl to cool (15 minutes). Add pounded spices and cinnamon to onion along with bread and beef, mix well and season. To check seasoning, fry a little mixture and taste.

3 Preheat oven to 200C, line a wire rack with baking paper and pierce it in 4 or 5 places. Place rack over a roasting tray. Roll out pastry to a

30cm x 45cm rectangle, then refrigerate to firm. Cut into two 45cm x 15cm pieces. Working with a piece at a time (refrigerate the other), with longest edge nearest you, form half the filling into an even cylinder near the edge of the pastry. Brush edge of pastry with eggwash and roll away from you to enclose and seal. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Refrigerate again to firm up, then cut into 6cm pieces and place on prepared tray.

4 Brush pastries with eggwash, cut a couple of slashes in the top of each roll and bake until golden and puffed (20-25 minutes). Serve hot with smoked capsicum sauce.

Drink suggestion A pint of extra special bitter.>