Spicy Sausage and Chorizo Rolls | Lucyy Writes

 
Temperatures have drastically dropped over the last week, making my latest recipe to share with you all even more appropriate. You can't beat a freshly baked sausage roll, whether it's home-made or straight from the paper bag of a bakery. However, my home-made sausage rolls always go down a storm with family and friends. They're also always a tradition to bake for Christmas Eve.

Just before Christmas I received a selection of Books, with one being Delicious Bundles by Angela Gray. This quaint little book features recipes sorted into 'Bundles' to treat ourselves to, with global takes of comforting classic dishes. You'll find dishes are sorted into seasons, with warming winter curries, spring vegetable asian recipes, bbq recipes for summer and autumnal baked goods. 

I decided to give the Spicy Sausage and Chorizo Rolls a whirl, by adapting my own Sausage Roll recipe with Angela's spicy edition. I also switched out ingredients such as Mustard for Harissa Paste and adjusted quantities to suit the Free From ingredients opted for.

Ingredients for 'Filling'

Fry Light or Cooking Spray of choice

1/2 a Red Onion (finely diced)

1 tsp of Chopped Garlic (I use Lazy Garlic)

1-2 tsp of Mild Curry Powder

400g Sausage Meat (gluten free)

75g Chorizo (diced and gluten/milk free)

100g Gluten Free Breadcrumbs (Mrs Crimble)

1 Beaten Egg

1 tbsp of Mango Chutney

Ingredients for 'Wrap'

1 Sheet of Ready Rolled Gluten Free Pastry

1 tsp of Harissa Paste (instead of mustard)

Large handful of Grated Cheddar Cheese (dairy free if needed)

1 Egg + Splash of Milk for glazing/sticking

Method -

Pre-Heat Oven to 180C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

In a frying pan, fry the chopped onion and garlic on a low-medium heat until softened - cooking with fry light/oil.

Stir in the curry powder, with a splash of water to stop your ingredients from catching and fry for another couple of minutes before taking off the heat.

In a large bowl, mix the sausage meat, chorizo, breadcrumbs and onion mixture. Before adding in the beaten egg and mango chutney. 

Take your ready-rolled pastry, and slice into two strips, this will make two long sausage rolls.

Spread harissa paste along each of the pastry strips and sprinkle each with grated cheese. You can then take your sausage mixture and lay along each strip.

Brush the edges of the pastry with your egg+milk mixture, before rolling/wrapping over to encase. Press firmly down to seal. Then slice each roll into desire sized rolls. I'd recommend 4-6 each. Don't forget to cut diagonal slits across the top of each individual roll.

Now, lay on your tray and brush with your egg+milk mixture to ensure you have golden brown rolls when out the oven. Pop in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown + crispy. 

If you're fond of warm spices, you'll love this take of the British Classic incorporating Spanish Chorizo and Indian Spices. What have you been baking recently? Lucy xx

Disclaimer: *book sent for review consideration

Happy New Year | Reflecting on 2020

Happy New Year. Despite the current circumstances we're all in, I hope you managed to find some positivity from 2020. As we leave possibly our toughest and strangest of our years yet, I wish you all the best for the next year. 2021 will improve. New Year is always a difficult time for myself, especially the last few however coming home to a warm house, for Monopoly and Gin with the family, finished a long working day off perfectly. The afternoon was delightful, working my first Covid Vaccine Clinic, we met so many wonderful patients, staff and volunteers, from the surrounding area. Whilst we may all be guilty for focusing on the negatives of the current pandemic - I thought I'd share some of my achieved goals and positives from 2020. 

Read more Books - In 2020 I downloaded the Good Reads app, finishing on 53.5 Books, far more than my goal of 20. 

Update my Car - I ended up not only updating my car but doing all the negotiating myself, getting a ridiculously good deal with everything I asked for thrown in. Not only did I change my car, I ended up treating myself to a Brand New Car. I said goodbye to Winnie the Black C1 (special edition, Facebook designed) and hello to Wilfred the Blue Vauxhall Adam Griffin.

Use my Annual Leave Wisely - I'm always guilty of never booking enough Annual Leave. I tend to use it for short breaks due to numerous reasons. This year despite the pandemic I did manage a few short trips away, they weren't exciting but it was a change of scenery. 

Complete one course - I ended up completing THREE in my spare time. The first being Counselling based. The second, Nutrition and the final Business related.

Further Training at Work - I was able to complete numerous training/webinar days through work as well as on the job training. Fingers crossed this continues in 2021, the Pandemic delayed much of this. 

One Year At My Current Job - I completed my first year at the Surgery. I'm honestly so lucky to work for the practice I'm currently at and to have continued to have worked through 2020 whilst many have been furloughed.

First Tattoo - I'll most likely update on this fully, however I finally got the Tattoo I've wanted. It may have taken three attempts due to Lockdown and Tier changes. However when plans for further trips were changed, I used my Annual Leave to focus on myself. The whole process was incredible (and didn't hurt a bit). 

Blog Again - I attempted to start Lucyy Writes again, working with various brands when I could fit it around work. I've enjoyed photography again and working with Publishing companies.

Say Goodbye to my Therapy Team - We came to the very end. With them unable to provide anymore and the fact they caused more harm than good. Life is tough. But one day I'll beat my current battles. I've tried to focus on calming techniques, getting back into art, reading, blogging, baking and crafts. Sue even introduced me to Nidra Yoga (something I'd like to explore more in 2021).

Meet New People - Lucy started dating again. It's been interesting in a Pandemic. There's been positives and negatives. Tinder provided many giggles amongst those around me, whether the guy being vertically challenged, 1 child turning to 3, inexperienced, confused, throw in a creepy doctor OR overly keen prior to any date. Despite the negatives, they've have given me the confidence to realise how much I deserve and when times allow again, you could say 2021 looks rather promising 😏.

I'd love to hear how you spent New Years Eve & your achievements this year? 2021 may be uncertain, however we can still create some positivity for the next 52 weeks. Lucy xx