I found an old cook book the other day and it whisked me back to the kitchen when I was five! Cooking was always a love of mine, and I enjoyed nothing more than cooking with my lovely mum (who is now 85) and packing it up in a bag with a thermos flask full of squash and hopping on a bus to the beach! We’d get there and I’d just be waiting for lunch time when we’d unwrap a sausage roll or a scone and eat the results of my (our) labours.
Getting your kids to start cooking is a gift that keeps giving into adulthood. You might need to help them with this one but it’s great to get children used to handling pastry … I often bake my own pastry but sometimes I just cannot be bothered and I turn to Dorset Pastry (dorsetpastry.com). I use sausage meat is from farmgirlsausages.com near Wimborne and I get my free range eggs from Foots Eggs near Sherborne. – Lizzie
Ingredients
- 4 free range eggs
- (+ 1 yolk to glaze)
- 1 packet (or 325g) shortcrust pastry
- 350g sausage meat
- Mixed herbs
- Salt & pepper
Method
- Take the pastry out of the fridge about 15 minutes before use.
- Put four eggs in a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes. When done, let them cool a little, and peel.
- While the eggs cook, mix the sausage meat with the herbs and seasoning in a bowl
- Shape the pastry into a rectangle and roll out to about 15 cm x 12 cm. With the long edge at the base put the seasoned sausage meat on and spread out, leaving 3cm at the top and 2cm on either side.
- Use the egg yolk to glaze the bare pastry edges.
- Place the eggs in a row along the meat about 2-3 cm from the base, pushing them down firmly. Now roll the pastry up, carefully keeping the eggs in place, and seal the edges of the pastry to make sure the eggs and meat are fully enclosed.
- Lay it on a lined baking sheet. Decorate with scraps of pastry and wash the whole log with the rest of the yolk.
- Bake for 45 – 50 minutes (200ºC/ gas 6) until the pastry is crisp and golden.
- Cool and then pop in the fridge to chill. Serve in slices!
Dorset, Lizzie Baking Bird creates sweet and savoury bakes. You’ll find her at Dorset’s farmers’ markets and shows. A member of the Guild of Food Writers, Lizzie has won numerous Great Taste Awards. Find her on: lizziebakingbird.co.uk
