Ex-pat Cravings

Gem here. When living away from your home country there are always things you miss and yearn for. Apart from family and friends, high on my list are Allens lollies (in particular Chico babies), Twisties, Tim Tams and Ponds tinted moisturiser. The great thing about these items is they can usually be popped in the post (at vast expense mind you!) or squeezed into a visitor's suitcase but unfortunately there is something at the top of my list that can't do either. It is something I dream about, salivate about and is always sought out and consumed within the first 30mins of escaping the airport after landing on Aussie soil- a good old SAUSAGE ROLL! You may be aghast, but this flaky, piping hot beauty with a generous splatter of good old tomato sauce (that isn't called ketchup) is all I think about. Brumby's (and not Bakers Delight- trust me, they do not sell sausage rolls. I have made that mistake before and delayed my fulfilment while in an inpatient jet lagged frenzy trying to track down their nearest competitor) makes a fortune out of me on my annual pilgrimage as during my stay I usually work my way through their array of flavoured sweet and savoury bread loaves, pies and of course my beloved S.R.'s. When living in Oz I used to only consume one of these high brow snacks when overwhelmed with the worst of hangovers but distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder as my S.R. fix is non negotiable!

When it all becomes a bit much and a trip home is too far away on the horizon I have found an answer. I have mastered a recipe that I whip up to try and cure those ex-pat cravings....

GEM'S (WISH I WAS AT BRUMBY'S) SAUSAGE ROLLS

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely grated

1 zucchini, finely grated

I sprig rosemary

salt and pepper

1 cup fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs

500g chicken mince

1 egg, lightly beaten plus 1 egg extra, lightly beaten

1/2 cup chopped coriander plus extra

1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Sweet chili sauce

Tomato sauce (+ extra to serve)

4 sheets frozen puff pastry, just thawed

Sesame seeds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200degC and line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
2. Cook onion and garlic in small amount of olive oil until softened. Add carrot and zucchini and rosemary sprig and cook for further 5 mins. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove rosemary sprig and discard it.
3. In a large bowl place mince, breadcrumbs, 1 egg, cooled onion mixture, coriander, parsley a good dollop each of tomato and sweet chili sauce and lots of salt and pepper and mix to combine. May need to add more breadcrumbs if too wet.
4. Place 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface and halve length ways. Spoon an eighth of the mixture length ways along the centre of each piece. Scatter with extra coriander leaves and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold both edges of the pastry together to cover the mince and overlap. Squeeze along join to secure. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.
5. Cut rolls into desired size (I do around 3cm pieces) and cut two small incisions into each roll to prevent splitting.
6. Place on baking sheets, cover and chill for 30 mins.
7. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until rolls are lightly browned and cooked through. Serve immediately with tomato sauce.