Fruity Sausage Plait

This is a regular for teatime at university for me because it is so nice! I got the recipe from one of those recipe cards that supermarkets give out to prompt people into cooking more themselves, and I'm really glad I decided to make it. It's more of a winter/Christmas style meal but I think you can definitely have it other times of the year.

I didn't make the pastry myself I'm afraid, a combination of laziness and impending oral exam, but ready-made pastry is still really good and it definitely saves you time if you have a family.

It's also really good cold the next day for lunches, so if you have some left-over don't be afraid to put it in your packed lunch!

Ingredients

350g puff pastry

454g sausage meat

3 tbsp cranberry sauce

1 small cooking apple, peeled and grated

1 tsp dried sage

1 beaten egg, to glaze

Recipe

1) Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6.

2) Roll of the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle around 20cm x 30cm.

3) Place the sausage meat, cranberry sauce, apple and sage in a bowl and season well.

4) Mix the ingredients together then form into a rectangular shape in the centre on the pastry.

5) Cut slits into the pastry at a diagonal angle, 1.5cm apart at both sides of the sausage meat.

6) Fold the top end of the pastry over the meat, then alternately cross the cut pastry over, to form a plait effect.

7) Carefully lift onto a floured baking tray then brush with the beaten egg.

8) Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Quiche Lorraine

I first made this last summer but I hadn't gotten around to making it again until I thought it would be a good thing to make for tea this week. I'm definitely glad I did as well! The recipe seems a bit long but you can buy ready-made pastry or even make it the night before to save a bit of time. I really love the tomatoes in this recipe as well, they bring an extra sweetness to the quiche which gives it a bit of an edge over other quiches. 

I used mature cheese in mine which meant it is extremely cheesy, so if you aren't as much of a fan of cheese as I am, then I'd suggest using a milder cheese. I also sprinkled a bit of extra cheese on top but this isn't a necessity, just personal choice! 

This is perfect hot or cold; I had some for tea then had leftovers for lunch the next day and it was just as good. I also managed to make 2 small versions with the leftover pastry and filling! 

To make the smaller ones, I just used the left-over pastry with some 10cm tart tins then placed a tomato on top instead of in the pastry case. This is definitely something you can enjoy hot for your tea or cold for a lunch snack.

Ingredients

Pastry:-

175g plain flour

75g butter

Pinch of salt

Cold water

Filling:-

250g cheddar cheese

2 tomatoes

200g bacon

5 eggs

150ml milk

150ml double cream

Salt

Pepper

Recipe

1) Sift the flour with the salt in a large bowl, then rub in the butter to produce a breadcrumb texture.

2) Add enough cold water to bring the mixture together into a firm dough then allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3) Roll out the pastry on a floured surface then place in a 22cm buttered flan dish.

4) Chill the pastry again and preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5.

5) Remove the pastry from the fridge and line with baking parchment and baking beans.

6) Bake blind for 20 minutes then remove the beads and parchment and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

7) Sprinkle most of the cheese into the pastry base then add the sliced tomatoes.

8) Fry the bacon pieces until crispy then sprinkle onto the tomatoes.

9) Combine the eggs, milk and cream in a bowl and season well.

10) Add the remaining cheese into the mixture then pour over the bacon and cheese.

11) Bake for 40 minutes then remove and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Goat's Cheese, Potato and Onion Tart [Archive]

I never really see many sweet tarts that I fancy making minus the classic lemon and treacle ones so I thought I'd make a savoury one instead. This one seemed like a bit of a posh way to have lunch this week and I have a new fondness for Goat's cheese. It's a really simple recipe as well; even though there are a lot of steps, they're really simple and easy to follow. You can also buy a pre-made pack of shortcrust pastry if you don't fancy making it yourself. I got the recipe from good old BBC Good Food here.

Ingredients

Pastry:-

175g plain flour

75g butter

Few tablespoons of cold water

Filling:-

25g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, sliced

1 medium potato, peeled and sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

140g goat's cheese

3 eggs

200g creme fraiche

2 tbsp thyme leaves

Recipe

Pastry:-

1) Sift the flour into a large bowl.

2) Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3) Add water a teaspoon at a time until the pastry comes together in a ball. Don't worry if the pastry seems a bit crumbly, this just means that you'll get really lovely crumbly pastry in your tart!

4) Allow to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better for this as pastry needs to be really cool.

5) Roll pastry out and place in dish to chill in the fridge again. This is to allow the pastry to settle before you blind bake it to prevent it from coming away from the dish. 

6) Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5.

7) Line the pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans to blind bake for 15 minutes.

8) Remove the baking beans and parchment and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Filling:-

1) Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan and add the onions and potato.

2) Cook for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally.

3) Add the garlic then cook for another 3 minutes.

4) Place in the pastry case with the Goat's cheese. I kept some of the cheese spare to sprinkle on the top but you can put it all in the case if you want!

5) Whisk the eggs and creme fraiche together then pour into the pastry case on top of the potato and onion.

6) Bake at 190C/gas mark 5 for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and set in the centre.

7) Serve warm or allow to cool and enjoy for lunches!