An upgrade of the classic, pastry encased UK style giant sausage roll. The pastry is still there, but the sausage filling is transformed by adding cashew nuts, apricots, ginger, and black pudding. Pork benefits from a fruity counterpoint, provided here by the charred zucchini and apple. And the mushroom Marmite gravy brings it all together.
I have this thing about UK style sausage rolls. One of those childhood legacies, I guess. If there is a sausage roll in the vicinity, I have to try it, hoping that it is as good as those I “remember” from long ago. Admittedly I am usually very disappointed, but that doesn’t appear to diminish the urge the next time.
This recipe tries to raise the bar and deliver a sausage roll that is anything but disappointing. Indeed, it is delectable. The complexity provided by the apricots, nuts, ginger, and black pudding, as well as the encasing prosciutto, elevated this sausage roll to such heights that I think I can finally to move on from that long-standing search for the ultimate example of this classic comfort food.
Of course, this dish is much more than the giant sausage roll, as amazing as it is. Pork, the only animal protein in this sausage roll, responds wonderfully to a fruity accompaniment. The apple and zucchini, charred yet still a little crunchy, provide that perfectly aligned accompaniment.
And then there is the mushroom Marmite gravy – the integrating component. Traditionally gravies are made from the remnants of cooking meat. This gravy is vegetarian, made with mushrooms, Marmite, and vegetable stock. It is so delicious and really gives meat-based gravies some serious competition. It also worked beautifully with these Lentil Stout and Mushroom Turnovers.
Giant sausage roll slice with mushroom Marmite gravy
Ingredients
Sausage roll
- 1 sheet flaky pastry rolled out to about 30cm x 25cm
- 6 slices prosciutto enough to cover the width of the rolled out pastry. Substitute with bacon if necessary.
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 500 g pork mince
- 150 g black pudding optional for those in the US
- 1/4 cup mirin or sake, or white wine
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts chopped and toasted
- 1/2 cup dried apricots diced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger finely grated from about 1 thumb sized piece
- 1/4 cup parsley finely chopped
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs lightly whisked
Mushroom Marmite gravy (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
- 20 g butter for saute plus 30g for the roux
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1 medium onion
- 1 red pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 150 g large brown or portobello mushrooms roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 20 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 tsp Marmite or Vegemite if you must
Charred zucchini and apple salad
- 3 large zucchinis
- 3 green apples
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt
- delectabilia salad dressing
Instructions
Sausage roll
- Preheat the oven to 200 degC.
- Dice the black pudding into 5x5mm pieces.
- Finely dice the onion and garlic.
- Bring a skillet to a medium heat, add a little oil, and sauté the onion and garlic until soft.
- Add the miring to the pan to deglaze, then transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, add the minced pork, pepper, chopped and toasted cashew nuts, diced dried apricots, chopped parsley, soy sauce, ginger, the onions and combine.
- Add the whisked eggs, breadcrumbs, and stir in.
- On a suitably sized surface, lay our a piece of plastic wrap.
- Put the meat mixture on the the plastic wrap, forming flat layer 25cm long by 20cm deep.
- Sprinkle the black pudding on to the surface of this layer the roll into a cylinder.
- Wrap the plastic wrap around the cylinder and place the meat mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until it has become firm enough that it doesn’t easily lose its shape when handled.
- On a suitably sized surface, dust with flour and lay out the pastry.
- Lay strips of pancetta on the the pastry, covering a 25cm width of the 30cm width of the pastry, leaving 5cm at each end..
- Remove the meat mixture from the plastic wrap and lay on the pancetta.
- Wrap the pastry and pancetta around the meat roll, folding in each end, and having the seam along the width on the bottom of the roll. This is, effectively, a large sausage roll. Use a brush of whisked egg to seal the edges.
- Using a fork, punch some holes in the pastry so that steam can escape.
- Bake at 200 degC for 15 minutes, then reduce to 170 degC and bake for a further 20 minutes.
- Using a cooking thermometer, ensure the internal temperature of the sausage roll has reached 72 – 74 degC. If not, put back in the oven for another 10 minutes and try again.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing to serve.
Mushroom Marmite gravy
- Finely dice the onion, garlic, and the red pepper.
- Sauté the onion, garlic, and red pepper in 20 g butter until soft.
- Add the chopped mushrooms and sauté until soft and starting to brown.
- Add the vegetable broth, salt, pepper, and dried porcini.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
- Dissolve the Marmite in a few tablespoons of the stock, then add back to the pot.
- Strain the mushroom Marmite stock through a fine strainer (the dried porcini mushrooms would likely have deposited some grit).
- Rinse and dry the pan, then melt the 30 g butter for the roux.
- Whisk in the flour.
- Slowly add the mushroom Marmite stock, whisking all the time.
- Bring back to a simmer and check for a gravy consistency. If it is too thick, add some water or more veggie stock. If it is too thin, dissolve 1 tsp cornflour in a Tbsp water and stir that into the gravy.
- Strain the gravy through a fine stainer.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Charred Zucchini salad
- Trim the ends from the zucchinis, then cut lengthwise.
- Peel and de-core the apples and cut into slices.
- Bring a large skillet or grill to a high heat then brush with some oil.
- Add the zucchini and apple to the skillet or grill, cut side down for the zucchini. Grill until well browned, then turn over to brown the other side.
- Cut the zucchini and apple into bite sized pieces. When plating, sprinkle with chopped parsley and drizzle with delectabilia salad dressing.
Seared scallops with roasted garlic cream sauce and black pudding mash
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