Spread the smiles on Bonfire Night with Yelvertoft farmer's wife yummy creation from the Countryside Kitchen

Here’s the latest Countryside Kitchen column from Yelvertoft mum Milly Fyfe.

Milly lives with her husband and two children on their livestock and arable farm.

It’s that time of year where we get all cosy and warm, eat hearty food and probably pile on a few pounds too! Comfort food, be it stews, casseroles or traditional dishes like pie andmash are staples in our house. The ability to throw meat, vegetables and stock into a pot and leave it all day reducing down in a slow cooker is the biggest time saving hack and budget friendly way to cook I know.

If you pop to your local butchers or meat counter, have a chat to them about using cheaper cuts of meat such as stewing beef, which as the name suggests means it needs that extra time to cook, but you won’t be disappointed on flavour. And it will be a fraction of the cost of a rib-eye or sirloin!

With Bonfire night approaching, I wanted to share a really yummy gluten free sausage roll recipe that I’ve perfected using mozzarella and cranberry sauce.

As you probably already know from my food blog and podcast, I love to cook. But having the gluten intolerance has made me rediscover cooking some of the basics like bread and pastry as if you’ve ever tried shop bought gluten free bakery good, the bread and pastry are particular dry and cardboard like.

During a recent cookery competition with one of my PR clients, I was challenged to make some delicious sausage rolls. In the previous five weeks I’d not been able to sample any of the entries due to the glutenous pastry and filling. So in true Milly style with my ‘dare to be different’ motto, I set about preparing a gluten free sausage roll.

I’ve a real passion for growing food and cooking delicious meals the whole family can enjoy. That’s why I created a food blog and Facebook page called No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents, to share recipe ideas, local ingredient suggestions as well as focus on food producers, providing a connection between the food produced in the UK and how to make quick and easy meals.

Recipe as follows:

Pastry

295g gluten free plain flour

1 tsp of Xanthan Gum

1 egg white

225g salted butter

130 ml ice cold water

Parmesan cheese

Sesame seeds

1 egg for pastry brushing

Filling

6 x farmhouse sausages – remove the meat from the skins

Pinch of salt and pepper

1 tsp of dried sage

1 jar of cranberry sauce

1 pack of mozzarella cheese

Method

Place the flour, xanthan gum and salt into a bowl and mix.

Chop up the cold salted butter into 1cm chunks and place in the flour mixture

Breakdown the butter into the flour mixture but avoid the temptation to rub the mixture into a breadcrumb like state. Basically smoosh the butter around with the flour.

Mix the egg white and ice cold water together.

Add 1/3 of the mixture and slowly bring the contents together. As the mixture combines, start to add a little at a time until the mixture forms a dough like ball. It shouldn’t be too dry or sticky.

Place the pastry onto a floured ball and roll until it is around 1cm thick. Fold the pastry like it’s and envelope back on itself and form a rectangle block.

Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the filling.

Mix the sausage meat, salt, pepper and sage together and add to a pan on a medium heat. Allow the meat to brown slightly and remove from heat. Allow to cool.

Bring the pastry out of the fridge and roll out again until the pastry is 1cm thick. Fold back onto itself like an envelope again and form another rectangle. Wrap back up in cling film and put back in the fridge for 15 mins.

Repeat this step 1 or 2 more times which helps to strengthen the pastry.

Once completed this processed roll your pastry onto a sheet of baking paper into a rectangle and cut in half length ways.

Spoon some cranberry sauce along the centre of both pieces of pastry

Place your sausage meat mixture on the top of the cranberry sauce in the middle of the two pieces of pastry

On top of the sausage place tiny pieces of chopped up mozzarella

Brush some egg around the edges of the pastry and gentle roll the pastry to allow the mixture to seal inside the pastry. Press slightly.

Brush the whole of the sausage roll pastry with an egg wash then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and a covering of sesame seeds.

Finally score the sausage rolls at an angle to allow the sausage meat to cook through and steam to escape. Chop the sausage rolls into equally sized pieces.

Place the sausage rolls in the oven at 210c for around 30 minutes. I cook mine in an everhot (similar to an AGA and can take slightly longer than a fan oven.

Remove the sausage rolls from the oven when they are golden brown.

Eat warm or cold. Warm always tastes better in my books. A perfect treat during a firework party on bonfire night!

So will you give this recipe a go? It’s a bit more of a challenge but very buttery for gluten free pastry. It was a treat for me after several months without a decent sausage roll!!

Enjoy!

For more mealtime suggestions, follow the no fuss meals for busy parents food blog at www.nofussmealsforbusyparents.com or on Facebook / Instagram