Candice Brown’s Black Pudding Sausage Rolls


sausage rolls

Ingredients

  • 150 g (5½ oz) unsalted butter, frozen
  • 110 g (3¾ oz) strong white bread flour
  • 110 g (3¾ oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tsp dried sage
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Beaten egg, for glazing
  • Sesame and poppy seeds, for sprinkling
  • For the Filling:
  • 400 g (14 oz) good-quality pork sausagemeat
  • 100 g (3½ oz) smoked streaky bacon, chopped finely
  • 1 tbs finely chopped fresh sage
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 2 shallots, chopped finely
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 100 g (3½ oz) chestnut mushrooms, chopped finely
  • 1 tsp finely chopped garlic (jarred or fresh)
  • 1 tsp finely chopped red chilli (jarred or fresh)
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 150 g (5½ oz) good-quality black pudding
Candice Brown recipe from Comfort, published by Ebury Press. Photo by Ellis Parrinder.

The Big Lunch is about millions of people getting together to share food, have fun and get to know each other better.

It’s a simple idea – that for a few glorious hours, cars stop, shyness stops and neighbours come together in the street to meet, greet, share, swap, sing, plan and laugh.

Here, champion baker Candice Brown has shared a favourite recipe for this year’s event.

“The one recipe that’s guaranteed to cause arguments within my family is these sausage rolls,” Candice says.

“‘Who’s got the biggest one?’ ‘Who got more?’ ‘Why haven’t you made me these?’

“They are requested frequently and devoured within seconds! Each bite should have a bit of everything.

The flaky pastry is perfect without all the folding and turning of puff pastry. Just make sure your butter and water are really cold! If you’re not keen on black pudding, swap it for sticks of apple or chorizo, or just keep it simple and have nothing at all except sausage meat.”

Method

Makes 6–8 sausage rolls.

  1. First make the pastry. Coarsely grate the butter on to a cold plate (do not handle the grated butter). Return to the freezer or put into the fridge to keep cold.
  2. Sift both types of flour into a large bowl. Mix in the dried sage, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Then, without handling the butter, drop it into the flour and mix in to coat it all evenly. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of ice-cold water and mix in with the knife, then gradually add a further 2-3 tablespoons of water until the mix starts to come together.
  3. Finish mixing to a pastry dough with your hands but do not handle the pastry too much. If you need more water add it a couple of drops at a time. The pastry should leave the sides of the bowl clean.
  4. Flatten the pastry into a square shape and wrap it in clingfilm. Leave to rest in the fridge for 30 to 45 minutes.

The Filling

  1. Meanwhile, make the filling. Put all of the filling ingredients, except the black pudding, into a large bowl, with some salt and pepper. Start mixing with a large spoon – then I like to get my hands in and squish it altogether. Fry off a small piece of the filling in a small frying-pan to check the seasoning. Add more to taste. Cover and set aside until needed.
  2. Remove the black outer coating from the black pudding and cut the pudding into 1 cm (½ in) sticks.

The Set Up

  1. Set the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a 60 x 30 cm (2 ft x 1 ft) rectangle that is about 3 mm (1/8 in) thick. (If this is too big for your work surface, cut the pastry block in half and roll out each half into a 30 x 15 cm [1 ft x 6 in] oblong piece.) Turn the pastry as you roll to stop it from springing back. As you work, try not to handle the pastry too much.
  2. Trim the edges of the pastry rectangle so they are straight and neat. Spoon the sausagemeat filling into the centre of the pastry and squeeze it together to make a sausage shape that runs across the pastry rectangle, parallel to the 30 cm sides (I find flouring your hands helps to do this). Push the sticks of black pudding into the filling in straight lines from end to end.

The Roll

  1. With cold, floured hands, lift one 30 cm side of the pastry up to the middle over the sausage filling and brush the outside edge with beaten egg (or milk). Lift the opposite side of the pastry up to slightly overlap and gently squeeze the edges together to create a sealed join of pastry. Roll the whole thing over so the join is on the bottom. Lift on to a tray and place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
  2. Remove from the freezer and, using a sharp knife, cut across into 5 cm (2 in) pieces. Arrange these, with the join underneath, on a greased baking sheet that has been lined with greaseproof paper. Return to the freezer to keep cold while you pre-heat the oven to 200 deg. C., 400 deg. F., Gas Mark 6.
  3. Glaze the pastry with beaten egg (or milk) and snip a small ‘V’ on top of each roll. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the sausage filling is cooked through and no longer pink.
  4. Remove from the oven and gently lift the sausage rolls from the baking sheet on to a wire rack to cool.

Still hungry? Click her for more recipes.

Every year during the Big Lunch, over 6 million people take to their streets, gardens and neighbourhoods  for a few hours of community, friendship and fun – join in!