Sage, Cheese & Onion Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
400 g ready made flaky or puff pastry
1 egg beaten to glaze and seal the rolls
Filling
5 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 large onion finely diced
1 tbsp seeded mustard
300 g fresh breadcrumbs
1 pinch cayenne pepper
250 g aged cheddar or tasty cheese grated
1 egg lightly beaten
40 ml cream
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Baking Trays lightly greased with butter
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius or 180 fan bake
Add all the filling ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
Lay out and cut the sheet/s of pastry to make 3 rectangles approximately 15cm x 35cm
Form the filling into sausage shapes in the middle of each length of pastry
brush the beaten egg along one of the long edges of pastry and fold the pastry over carefully to seal it. turn the roll over so the seal is at the bottom. Press gently and cut diagonal slices into the top of the pastry and brush with beaten egg.
Repeat with the other pieces of pastry.
Cut each roll into the desired size pieces and place on the greased baking trays.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 – 25 minutes and golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack.
These can be be kept in the fridge in an airtight container or frozen and heated through in the oven
Baked Garlic and Rosemary Brie
Ingredients
125 g Round of Brie cheeseYou can also use Camembert if you prefer
1 Clove of garlicPeeled and sliced into 6-8 slithers
1 Stem of fresh rosemary
1 heaped tsp of honey
Directions
Preheat an oven to 160 degrees celsius
Insert a small sharp knife into the Brie making 7-8 slits.
Insert a slither of garlic and a small sprig of rosemary into each slit in the brie, gently push in to the Brie with the tip of the knife
Smear the honey over the top of the Brie
Wrap tightly in baking paper and place on a tray in in small ovenproof dish and place in the pre heated oven
Cook for 5-10 minutes. The brie will puff up and the inside will be softened and warm.
Serve on a platter with fresh bread or serve with dips and other yummy nibbles
Gnocchi
Ingredients
650 g Floury potatoesCleaned and unpeeled
1 tsp Salt
100 g Plain flour
1 Egg plus 1 egg yolkLightly beaten
2 tsp Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
Place the potatoes into a medium sized pot, cover with cold water, add the teaspoon of salt and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for approximately 35 minutes until the potatoes are tender, placing a sharp knife into a potato to test.
Drain the Potatoes and leave for 5 minutes or just until you can handle them. Using paper towels rub the skin off the potatoes and then pass through a potato ricer or use a masher to finely mash them. Do not use a blender as this will make the potatoes go gluey.
Spread out the potatoes and leave to cool.
On your bench, make a shallow round with the cooled potatoes and make a well in the centre.
Add the beaten egg, yolk, olive oil and salt and pepper into the well and sprinkle the flour around the edges.
Using your hands, gradually mix the ingredients together forming a soft smooth dough, add more flour if needed.
Form the dough into 3 – 4 logs approximately 2cm wide.
Lightly flour you work surface and cut each log into 1.5cm pieces, roll each piece over the back of a fork to create indentations. this is the traditional Italian shape for gnocchi and it helps to hold the sauce.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi in small batches. They will drop to the bottom of the pot when you add them to the boiling water and rise to the surface when they are ready. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a warm serving platter until you have cooked all of the gnocchi needed.
Pour over melted butter to serve as a side or add a sauce. Try my Gnocchi with Lamb Ragout or my Gnocchi with Pork Sausage and Sage and Butter Sauce
Storing Gnocchi
To refrigerate: Store uncooked gnocchi in an airtight container in the fridge use within 2-3 days
To freeze: Store uncooked gnocchi layered between sheets of baking paper in an airtight container. Will keep for 2-3 months. Cook from frozen using the directions above
Baby Beetroot, Feta, Spinach and Walnut Salad
Ingredients
500 g Fresh baby beetroot or 1 x 820g can of baby beetroot
100 g Baby spinach leaves
100 g WalnutsToasted or Caramelised
100 g Feta cheese
If Using Fresh beetroot
2 tbsp Olive oil
Freshly ground pepper and salt
Honey Mustard dressing
2 tsp Honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Wholegrain mustard
½ cup Neutral oil such as salad or canola
1 LemonJuiced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Preparing the fresh beetroot
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius
Wash the beetroot, remove leaves and stems leaving approximately 1cm of stem on the beets.
dry beets with a paper towel to remove excess water
Place beetroot onto foil. Rub with olive oil and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and place in preheated oven
Cook for 45-60 minutes, until beets can be easily be pierced with a sharp knife.
remove from oven, open foil and leave for 5-10 minutes
Using paper towels, while beets are still warm rub skin from beets and remove stems and tails
Leave to cool before using in your salad
Honey Mustard Dressing
Place all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Season to taste
Beetroot, Feta, Spinach and walnut Salad
Place all salad ingredients together and gently toss. Pour over dressing and serve
Fresh Basil and Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
2 cups Fresh basil leavespacked
¾ cup Extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup Walnuts
4 Cloves of garlicminced or finely chopped
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheesegrated finely
Directions
Heat a non-stick pan on the stove on medium heat
Add the walnuts to the pan and gently toast the walnuts for approximately 5 minutes moving them around so they don’t burn, take care not to burn as they will turn bitter.
Remove from the heat once they have toasted and leave to cool before roughly chopping the walnuts
Place basil leaves, garlic, cooled toasted walnuts and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times scrape down the sides.
Slowly stream in the olive oil so that the oil doesn’t seperate. Occasionally scrape down the sides so it all mixes together.
Add the pepper and grated parmesan cheese and pulse to mix.
Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste if needed
Storing Pesto
To store pesto in the fridge: Pesto darkens if exposed to air so place in a jar and either cover with cling film making sure it is touching the pesto or top up with more olive oil. This will keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks
To Store in the freezer – you can easily store pesto ion the freezer but if you are freezing then do NOT add the parmesan cheese as it does not freeze well. You can add the parmesan after defrosting, simply stir through the parmesan once pesto has fully defrosted and check the seasoning, adding extra salt and or pepper to taste.
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