Rough Puff Pastry

Intro
For most of the last 25 years I have lived a good half hour away from a major town meaning I can't just pop down to the supermarket for groceries. We have a dairy where I live now, which is great, but I am still in the habit of making do.

This pastry recipe is pretty reliable and I use it for savoury pies and sausage rolls. I have a Sweet Short Pastry which I'll post here as well.

Recipe

• 1.5 cups plain flour - I prefer organic flour (it really does taste better),
• quarter teaspoon salt,
• 175g cold butter,
• 150ml cold water.
  

Put the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Chop the butter into about 6 chunks and throw in as well. Pulse for 8 - 10 short pulses to roughly chop the butter. We are not looking for crumbs here folks. Tip the cold water in and pulse for short bursts until it just pulls together. don't over process it.

Tip it out and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave in fridge for 15 mins.

Roll out on a floured board into a rectangle, fold one end to the 2/3rds mark and fold the last end over the top (so folded into a third of the original size). Turn 90 degrees and roll out into a rectangle, fold into thirds again, repeat the turn and roll twice more. Cover with plastic wrap then refrigerate for 15 minutes. Roll, fold and turn 4 more times. Refrigerate for 15 minutes then roll out and use.

Mushroom Rolls

Intro

I seem doomed to be forever surrounded by bloody vegetarians. My kids bring them home now; my daughter has had 2 close friends who didn't eat meat and my son's gorgeous wife is a vego too. Fortunately Bloke #2 was a vegetarian and over the 7 years or so we were together I gathered a few good recipes up. He loved pastry and pies and these 'sausage rolls' are so tasty I stopped making meat-ones altogether. 

Recipe

• 500g mushrooms - finely chopped by hand or in a food processor,
• 2 large onions, finely chopped by hand - they bruise in a food processor,
• 4 tablespoons olive oil,
• 3 large garlic cloves - finely chopped,
• 2 teaspoons curry powder,
• 1 teaspoon tumeric,
• 40z fresh breadcrumbs (fresh bread slices in food processor),
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley,
• 2 eggs,
• salt, pepper,
• flaky pastry - prerolled sheets or a block rolled out 2-3mm thick.

Heat the oil in a frypan, add the spices and garlic and cook gently for a minute or so. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes then add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Add the parsley and breadcrumbs and stir through. Remove from heat, cool a little then add the eggs, allow to get cold. Assemble as for your favourite sausage rolls. 

Method

Lay out rectangles of pastry (cut pre rolled squares in half), place the mushroom filling in a long sausage shape down the middle. Fold pastry over sealing edges with water. Make a few slashes or decorative cuts in the top. Glaze with beaten egg, sprinkle on a few grindings of coarse sea salt, cracked pepper or dried herbs. Cut into pieces as big or small as you like. Place on a greased baking sheet spaced apart to allow for pastry to rise. Cook in a hot oven , about 210 degrees, until pastry is golden and well risen.