#22 Old Fashioned Sausage Rolls

Old fashioned sausage rolls.

Tips and Tricks:

• Buy the best quality mince you can, HeartSmart or 5 Star here. The better the meat, the less fat, the better the finished sausage roll.
• Be prepared to squelch the mixture for a few minutes at least. Wear disposable gloves if you hate the feel of the meat. The more you mix it by hand, the more it emulsifies naturally, in fact you don't usually need to add an egg at all if you are prepared to mix for 5 minutes.
• Preheat the oven and line the tray

Old-fashioned Sausage Rolls makes 16

• 300g best beef mince
• 1 onion, grated or finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or chives or a mixture of your choice
• 2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed
• milk or egg wash for brushing onto the rolls

Preheat the oven to 220*C and line two trays with baking paper.

Place the mince, onion, carrot, herbs, seasonings and egg into a bowl and squelch about, mixing with your hands until you feel the texture of the mince change. It will 'come together' (right now!!) If you don't wish to use an egg, you can mix for about 5 minutes.

Cut each pastry sheet in half, and leave the backing plastic on, if there is any.

Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts and then arrange each part down one long side of the pastry. In a sausage shape. Make sure you go right to the ends, no-one wants a half-empty pastry casing.

Use the plastic backing to help you roll the pastry, quite firmly, around the mince to make a 'roll' and then place seam side down. (Remember to discard the plastic!!)

Cut each roll into four equal parts, brush with milk or egg wash and then prick decoratively with a fork

Arrange on the tray and bake for 20- 25 minutes. Keep an eye on them, I rotate the trays. Peek underneath a roll, lift it up with the edge of a knife, they can catch quite easily. They will be a lovely golden brown when they are cooked.

Then cool for a few minutes and eat, piping hot or cool or cold, with tomato sauce.

These freeze well as cooked rolls, or at the ready to cook stage and really, they are quite healthy and economical to make. 16 sausage rolls at our local bakery cost almost $40.

#21 Pear and Berry Crumble

Pears are at their best in Autumn, and so I thought I would cook a few pear recipes. This week's is a crumble. A crumble is quick to make and very tasty. It can be on the table in about 45 minutes from go to whoa, or you can make it in the morning and just pop it into the oven in the evening.(I would add the crumble topping just before baking) I used Beurre Bosc pears, some Granny Smith apples and frozen mixed berries. I like adding apple because by themselves, pears can be a little bland I feel. You may not. Using fruit in season is also very economical!!! Don't use mixed frozen berries with strawberries. They just don't work.

My recipe is cobbled together from this month's Delicious Magazine and Stephanie Alexander!!

Pear and Berry Crumble serves 4

• 4 to 6 pears, peeled and diced
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
• 600g frozen or fresh mixed berries
• 50g butter
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1-2 tspn cornflour if you like
  

Crumble

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 150g plain flour
• 90g butter, cubed
• 1 tspn baking powder
• 1 tspn cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180*C.Place butter, sugar and pears and apples in a pan on the stove and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. If you prefer your crumbles to be less runny, you can add a teaspoon or two of cornflour and boil for one minute to thicken the fruit. I didn't.

Make the crumble by sifting the flour and baking powder into a bowl, adding the sugar and cinnamon and then rubbing in the butter with the tips of your fingers. It is ready when it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Shaking the bowl gently will make any lumps of butter rise to the top so you can rub them in.

Pour berries into a 4-6 cup casserole dish or pie plate and then pour over the pear mixture. Cover with the crumble mixture and then place on a tray- to catch any juice that might boil over- and bake for 25-30 minutes. It will be cooked when the crumble is golden brown. I sometimes turn the temperature up to 200*C for the last 5 minutes and keep an eye on it.

Serve with cream, ice cream or custard. I used Ashgrove cream, it is wonderfully thick and from dairy about 40 minutes away from home.

#20 Creamy Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Today's recipe is not for the faint-hearted. It contains Brussel Sprouts. They are ameliorated with bacon, stock and cream, but since I like them simply steamed with salt, pepper and butter, this is just fruit for the sideboard.

This recipe is in the Winter Family Circle, but I think sprouts are Autumnal. If you buy your Brussel Sprouts at the greengrocer they may be much larger than the magazine assumes and so they take two and a half times longer to cook. If you buy ordinary teeny tiny ones from the supermarket you will be OK.

Creamy Brussel Sprouts with Bacon for 4

• 4 rashers of bacon, chopped (rind removed)
• 1 kg Brussel Sprouts, trimmed and halved*
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup thickened cream
• salt and pepper

Fry the bacon in a non-stick pan over a medium/high heat for 3 or 4 minutes until browned, then remove to a plate with kitchen towel to drain. Leave the bacon fat in the pan.

*When you halve the Brussel Sprouts, cut a cross into the base, or even nick out the stem a little, it helps to cook them quickly.

Add the sprouts to the hot pan and cook for 4 minutes, turning two or three times. I start with them all facing one way and then it is easier to make sure you flip them all.

Add the stock and simmer for 5-8 minutes, turning the sprouts a few more times, until they are tender. This is where I found I needed to use more stock and increase the cooking time.

They should be ready when the stock has almost evaporated.At the last moment add the cream, bacon and salt and lots of pepper.

I think it could also have some grated Parmesan cheese on top.

#19 Pasta and Vegetable Soup

Today I made soup. It is a simple soup and I thought it needed something extra so I whipped up some Parmesan and parsley dumplings. They worked very well. (I forgot to wipe the bowl clean, I would be eliminated from MasterChef)

Pasta and Vegetable Soup (with optional dumplings)

• 1 1/2 cups small dry pasta
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  
• 4 sticks celery, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
• a little oil for frying
• 4 cups stock, chicken or vegetables
  

1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the packet, drain and set aside.
2. Put the oil in the pan over a medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic and celery for 10 minutes, so the onion is transparent but not browned.
3. Add the stock and carrot and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and cook for a further 8-10 minutes till the carrot is tender.

Optional dumplings

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 60g butter, diced
  
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tbspn milk
• chopped parsley
• 125g grated Parmesan cheese

Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter using the tips of your fingers. It should be as fine as breadcrumbs. If you give the bowl a shake, any big lumps come to the top. Stir in the grated cheese and parsley.

Make a well in the centre and add the egg and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Swirl to mix and then gradually stir in the flour. It should be not too sticky, not too dry. Add a little more milk if you need.

Roll the dumpling mixture into walnut or ping pong sized balls and drop gently into the boiling soup after Step 2.

#18 Golden Syrup Dumplings

It's very Autumnal here, icy crisp mornings and then sunny warm afternoons that draw slowly in at about 5 o'clock. So I want Golden Syrup Dumplings. I always make twice the sauce, I feel the dumplings need to swim in a puddle of sauce and custard. This recipe is for four people, but I would double the sauce. I was pleasantly surprised to find the dumplings were very light and fluffy: not that I thought they wouldn't be good, but they were extra good!!! You can whip these up in about half an hour too. Perfect.

Golden Syrup Dumplings serves 4

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 60g butter, diced
  
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tbspn milk

Sauce

• 30g butter
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup golden syrup

Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter using the tips of your fingers. It should be as fine as breadcrumbs. If you give the bowl a shake, any big lumps come to the top.

Make a well in the centre and add the egg and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Swirl to mix and then gradually stir in the flour. It should be not too sticky, not too dry. Add a little more milk if you need.

Meanwhile put the sauce ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring every now and then.

Roll the dumpling mixture into walnut or ping pong sized balls and drop gently into the sauce. Boil for 20 minutes and then serve with custard and cream. These also reheat well.

#17 Fish Cakes

Remember the Mashed Potato from MM#15?? I mentioned fish cakes, and voila, here they are!!! I used salmon but any cooked fish you like is perfect. I have also used sweet potato and carrot as part of the mash depending on leftovers. And there are never many leftovers here!! (Two Labradors)

Fish Cakes makes about 18

• mashed potato for 4 or 6
  
• one onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 415g tin of salmon drained* and flaked
  
• two eggs, beaten**
• breadcrumbs
• oil/butter for frying

*It is better for one's health to add all the bones and skin, but I hate the bones and skin: and so I don't.

** You can add an extra egg to the potato mixture, but with refrigeration the mixture holds its shape and stays together when frying.

Start with cool mashed potato and add the parsley, salmon, lemon juice and zest. If you prefer, you can lightly sauté the onion, and I do, and then add it to the potato mixture. Gentle fold together so as not to break up the fish too much. Use a wet 1/4 cup measure and scoop out the fish cakes. Place on a tray and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs, you may add a little water or milk and use just one egg if you like. Dip each cake lightly into the egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate again for about 30 minutes or over night. They can be frozen at this point.

Heat the oil/butter over a medium heat and pop the fish cakes in. Cook for 4-5 minutes each side. Drain on paper towel and then serve with a salad or vegetables and mayonnaise. A wedge of lemon does just fine here too. The cooked cakes can be frozen as well. They are very versatile!!

#16 ANZAC Biscuits

Next Sunday is ANZAC Day, the 25th of April, and so I have baked ANZAC Biscuits. Not cookies, never cookies. It is against the law to call them cookies. Really. I never bake any kind of cookies, I always bake biscuits!!

I have baked two kinds on ANZAC Biscuits: one with coconut and one without. I like the one without much better, it must be like the recipe my mum used to make. The recipe tastes too salty for me, perhaps more salt was added to preserve the biscuits?? They do need some salt though.

One year my class researched and found out that in actual fact Hard Tack biscuits were sent to the troops. These biscuits were also know as ANZAC Tiles or Wafers. We cooked some, and ANZACs as well, and then pinned them to the wall in a plastic bag for weeks and weeks. The hard tack was still hard and edible. The ANZACs looked reasonably OK, but we were loath to eat them in case they were bad!!

The method/cooking time is the same for both biscuits, so I will list the ingredients for both recipes and then the Method.

ANZAC Biscuits - recipe with coconut makes about 36

• 125g butter
• 2 tbspn Golden Syrup

• 1 tbspn boiling water
  
• 1 tspn bicarb soda (Baking Soda in the US I think)

• 1 cup rolled oats
  
• 1 cup plain flour
  
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 tspn salt (recipe says 1 tspn)

ANZAC Biscuits- without coconut (my preferred recipe) makes about 16

• 90g butter
• 1 tspn Golden Syrup

• 1 tbspn boiling water
• 1 tspn bicarb soda

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 tspn salt (recipe says 1 tspn)

METHOD - preheat oven to 175*C

• Gently melt butter in a pan and then add the Golden Syrup and stir. Remove from heat.
• Put the bicarb soda in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Add immediately to the butter mixture. It will foam up slightly.
• Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Make a well in the centre.
• Pour the butter mixture into the dry and then mix till combined. You have to mix well, because some flour and oats always hides at the bottom.
• Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place on a lined tray and press down gently with the back of the fork. The second recipe was wetter and so I just scooped out with a tablespoon full and rolled lightly. These also spread, so I only put 8 on the tray and that was perfect.
• Bake for 16 minutes, swapping trays halfway through. Check at 12 minutes just in case.
• Cool on trays for 5 minutes especially for the second recipe, they need to cool and 'set'
• Store in a sealed container.

You can, in a totally apocryphal way, add choc chips, or ginger or even spread the base of the cooled biscuits with melted chocolate!! I don't.