Courgette & Carrot Sausage Rolls

Our holiday and school cooks always love making these - so simple and you can put your own twist on it either adding apple sauce or cranberry sauce onto the pastry before you add the filling.

And the adding of grated vegetables gives not only additional nutritional value but a perfect level of moisture to avoid any dry sausage rolls!

Softened (in butter) and small strips of leeks can be added too

And you can use shortcrust or puff pastry - whatever you have to hand!

For our cooks who eat halal only you can use halal beef instead

For our cooks avoiding pork minced beef works perfectly well

Christmas Sausage Rolls              

Makes 6 sausage Rolls

3 tablespoons of sausage meat

1.5 tablespoons of grated courgette

1.5 tablespoons of grated carrot

2 cloves garlic crushed

2 tablespoons of Cranberry Sauce or Apple Sauce

15 x 5 cm piece of ready-made puff pastry

¼ beaten egg

Salt & Pepper

Black poppy seeds 

1.     Take the sausage meat and grate in the carrot and courgette

2.     Peel the garlic, crush and add

3.     Add the salt & pepper and thoroughly mix all the ingredients

4.     Cut 10 x 5 cm piece of ready-made puff pastry

5. Brush the cranberry sauce onto the piece of pastry before you add the sausage meat.

   
   

6. Put the sausage mixture in a line in the middle

5.     Fold over the sides and press together, so it look like a long present

6.     Brush with beaten egg

7.     Sprinkle over black poppy seeds and cut into 6 equal pieces

8.     Cook at 200 fan for 13-15 minutes until pastry is slightly browned and sausage meat is cooked

Cinnamon Rolls

These never fail! They always impress and our classes have always managed to prove their dough and make amazing cinnamon rolls - so much so that they have been compared to Gail's!

Super fun to make, relatively easy you just need a bit of time as you have to let them rise twice!

If you dont like cinnamon other flavour options are: - raspberry/cherry jam, lemon curd, Nutella, coffee cream or chocolate chips!

Can be kneaded with a dough hook or hands or use a wooden spoon to knead!

Can be made and kept in a fridge until ready to eat - bring to room temperature and then cook - perfect for breakfast on the run!

Cinnamon Rolls - makes 16

300g strong white bread flour

200g plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

60g granulated sugar

150-200ml whole milk

45g unsalted butter

1 standard packet yeast

2 large eggs, at room temperature

Filling

80g unsalted butter, extra softened

60g light brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Icing

100g full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature

50g icing sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.       Sieve the flours and mix and add the salt.

2.      Warm the milk and butter together over a very low heat. Should be just warm so you can put your finger in it and not burn it!

3.      Add in the sugar

4.      Whisk in the yeast until it has dissolved. Make sure you don’t overheat the milk and butter – it needs to be warm enough so yeast is active but not too hot to kill it!

5.      Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients, add the egg and then mix everything together. 

6.      Transfer dough to your work surface and then knead by hand (or a mixer with a dough hook) for 10 minutes until a soft dough forms.

7.       Let the dough rest for 10-30 minutes as you prepare the filling—this gives the dough’s gluten a chance to settle and relax, which will make rolling out much easier.

8.      Roll out the dough into a large rectangle (with the long end nearer you) and then put a thin layer of the sweetened butter and cinnamon mixture on top all over.

9.      Roll up the dough (from the long end)and then use your sharpest knife to cut into 16 rolls - about 1 inch thick. Can dip the knife into water for a clean cut.

10.  Arrange your rolls (with a 1/2 cm gap between each one) in a lightly greased 10-inch pan and allow to rise until doubled in size (60-90 mins)– they are ready to bake once doubled in size.

11.    If the room is not warm enough preheat your oven to 60 degrees then turn it off. Brush with warm water and then cover the shaped rolls with aluminium foil and place the pan inside the warm oven. Leave the oven door cracked open for about 30 minutes, then close it and let them finish rising (another 30–60 minutes) in the oven with the door closed.

12.   When the rolls have doubled in size they are ready to bake - bake for 20-25 minutes at 190 degrees, or until lightly browned.

13.   Make the icing when the rolls are in the oven. Mix the cream cheese until smooth and creamy – add the sieved icing sugar and vanilla extract until combined.

14.   Using a knife or icing spatula, spread the icing over the warm rolls and serve immediately.                

Enjoy!                                    

Thai Green Chicken Curry

This curry is light and flavoursome - super fun to make as you make everything from scratch and blend the paste together and then add all the chopped ingredients.

As we mention A LOT in our cooking classes - its a colourful dish and so it not only looks good but is better for you!

It can be as spicy as much as you like or don't like - add more chillies for more spice!

You can add some chunks of roasted or fried aubergine for a richer taste

This recipe is ideal for cooks 7plus with the various skills it involves;- chopping skills, grating the ginger, juicing the limes and using a blender, supervision is needed but its an ideal age to introduce kitchen equipment to your young cook

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Serves 8

3-4 chicken thigh fillets cut into chunks

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

2 cm piece of ginger –grated (2-2 ½ tsp)

½ bulb of garlic – peeled

3/4 bunch of fresh coriander

Juice of 2 ½ limes

2 fresh green chillies – (include seeds if you want it spicy!)

2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

Bunch of spring onions

3 peppers (deseeded and cut into long strips)

400ml coconut milk

Around 1 tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)

Serve with Jasmine Rice & Lime leave or Coriander

Marinade the chicken the night before and leave in the fridge, if you can.

Method

1.       Marinade the chicken in the honey & soy sauce for a few hours in the fridge.

2.      Then grill on high the chicken one side for 10 minutes, the other side for 5 minutes

3.      Blitz with a blender the following to make the paste - ginger, green chillies, lime juice, coriander, & garlic

4.      Warm a saucepan and add the oil, then fry the spring onion (chopped into ½ cm pieces) for 1 minute

5.      Add the peppers until soft.

6.      Stir in the paste until all vegetables are coated.

7.       Turn down the heat to low and add the coconut milk

8.      Simmer for 6-8 minutes

9.      Add sliced chicken, simmer for 5 minutes, season with fish sauce and garnish with spare coriander.

10.  Serve with jasmine rice. (If you do not have a rice cooker, remember the finger trick - wash the rice in cold water and fill the water to the first joint on your finger - resting your finger on top of the rice)!

Options – Add bamboo shoots, courgettes, kaffir lime leaves