Toulouse Sausage Roll

Sunday fun day!

Hello my darling readers, today I have made sausage rolls made with Toulouse sausage meat, thy are usually gluten free and quite garlicky.

 

For this recipe, I used left over puff pastry sheet (half a sheet more or less!), finely chopped spring onion, smoked paprika, salt and black pepper. Combine all ingredients and unroll the pastry sheet.

I find it easier to shape the sausage meat in cling film first, make sure the mixture is solid and lay it in a long ‘roll’ just off centre down the pastry length. Brush the edges of the pastry lightly with egg wash and bring the sides up to meet over the filling. Pinch the edges firmly together to form a seal.

Make four slits in one side of the rolls, to allow steam to escape.Brush the pastry with the remaining egg wash and bake for 20-30 minutes or until pastry risen and golden brown on gas mark 7.

You can serve it with some nice mustard or chili sauce. Guess what’s my preferred sauce? 😉

Let me know what you think!
Ana xx

Pastéis de Bacalhau – Salted Cod Cakes.

I love my Portuguese roots and I am a bit disappointed that I don’t cook enough Portuguese dishes!

To show my appreciation, I’ve decided to make one of our most popular snacks. To be honest with you, I had left over mash potato from my lamb stew earlier this week, so why the heck not.

 
You can get Bacalhau in any Portuguese food store, or for the cheaper option, you can go to any Afro Caribbean food store, and you will be able find salt fish!

Depending on the thickness of the dry fish, you will have to soak it in water for 1 to 2 days. Don’t forget to change the water every 12 hours. Pinch some of the cod and taste it, it should not taste salty but slightly salty is right. If it doesn’t taste of any salt you will need to adjust the salt in the recipe later.

• 400g Salted Cod
• 200g Mash Potatoes
• 1/2 onion (minced)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• Handful of finely chopped parsley
• Vegetable oil for frying

Boil the cod. You can boil the cod without any flavourings. When the cod is cooked it will come apart when probed with a fork. When this is cold, you will need to debone, skin and shred the fish.

If you do not have mash potato laying around like me, you will need to make some. Boil them potatoes and mash them.

Add the cod with the mash, and mix this well, then add the rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Mix everything very well again until all is incorporated and homogenized. Make quenelles shaped of any size and take it to refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.

 
Fry in a very hot and generous amount of oil. At least half of the cakes must be covered when frying. Let it golden and then turn the cakes around and golden the other side. Remove from pan and let the cakes dry in paper towel for few seconds and then serve.

 
It should be deliciously crunchy. Serve it with a lime wedge or some hot sauce!

I’m Mac N’ Cheese Balls

If you knew my person, you would know that I absolutely love mac and cheese! I love pasta and I love cheese! 

I had deep friend Mac and Cheese balls before but they were quite big size – not as small as a golf ball but not as big as a tennis ball! In my opinion, this sort of food is good in bite size! 

For this recipe, you will need left over mac and cheese. 

I used ditalini rigati pasta, lots of single cream, butter, Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese and mozzarella. Make sure you leave the Mac and Cheese in your fridge for over night before using it for the recipe. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the macaroni mixture from the refrigerator, and scoop into balls.

Whisk the bread crumbs with the paprika, chili powder and black pepper  in a shallow dish; set aside. Beat the 1 egg with the 3 tablespoons milk in a small bowl. Coat the balls in the egg wash, and then dredge in breading.

Fry the mac balls in small batches until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain briefly on a paper towel plate; serve hot – I should have made a salsa sauce to go with it. 

I’ve made a quick sauce out of tomato purée, honey, soya sauce and chili. 

  

  Enjoy!

Ana x

Beef Spring Rolls

I am sorry I have not been posting anything! I have been busy celebrating my birthday and that my foot cast is finally off!

I have been busy trying to walk again.

Two weekends ago, we have made beef spring rolls!

 For the spring roll filling, we used shredded carrots, beansprouts and sliced beef. Stir-fried these until cooked with some pepper and some soya sauce. You might want to drain this on a colander. The more liquid drained the better – you don’t want the spring roll wraps to be soggy when you roll them up

Most wrappers come frozen, so make sure you defrost them beforehand.

Place wrapper like diamond, on a clean, dry surface. Place 1 tablespoon of filling near corner. Fold over the corner, and roll tight.

 
To fry the spring rolls, you’ll to heat up a good amount of oil – if you have a deep fryer that’s even better!

Keep turning them to brown evenly. Once they are golden brown, they are done.

I will try to make more at home but with different fillings, maybe a lobster filling!

Let me know what you think
Ana xx