Pork sausage rolls

 Ingredients:

• ½ tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 brown onion, small, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 3 tsp fennel seeds, toasted
• 500g free-range pork mince (ground pork) (not lean)
• ¾ cup / 40g panko breadcrumbs OR ½ cup regular breadcrumbs
• ⅛ cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp salt (5g)
• Black pepper
• 2½ sheets puff pastry, thawed then each cut into half
• Nigella seeds

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
• Toast fennel seeds and set aside.
• Heat oil in a non-stick fry pan over medium high heat. Sauté garlic, onion, carrot & celery. When cooked, set transfer to bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Add remaining filling ingredients into the bowl – pork, breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, fennel seeds. Use your hands to mix well.
• Lay out a rectangle of pastry and brush egg along one long edge.
• Get ⅕ of the filling and shape into a long log shape down the middle of the pastry. Ensure the meat is tight and compact, without gaps.
• Roll up, finishing with the seam side down.
• If you have time/patience, refrigerate for 1 hour (makes it easier/neater to cut)
• Cut each log into four equal lengths, or just two if you want full size sausage rolls. Brush with egg and sprinkle with nigella seeds.
• Place on two baking trays lined with baking paper (or sprayed with oil). Bake for 30 - 35 minutes in total, swapping tray shelves at 20 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden brown.
• Cool slightly on trays. Serve hot or warm with tomato sauce or ketchup.

Recipe Notes:

Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese breadcrumbs which are larger than normal ones. For crumbed/breaded things, it makes them even crunchier. For fillings, they make the filling less dense, more moist. You can substitute for normal breadcrumbs, but reduce the quantity to 1/2 cup otherwise the filling won't be as moist.

Adapted from: https://www.recipetineats.com/special-pork-fennel-sausage-rolls/ 

Easy lemon cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 115 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (approx 1/2 large lemon)
• Zest of one lemon
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk

Icing:

• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 50g butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

What to do:

• Preheat the oven to 180C standard / 160C fan-forced. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with cupcake liners.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until pale and creamy - this will take a couple of minutes. If the butter is still hard before starting, microwave the mixture for 5-10 secs on approx 60 per cent power.
• Add eggs and beat briefly until combined. 
• In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Add half the flour mixture and all the yogurt, along with the lemon juice and zest, and slowly mix together on a low speed. 
• Add the rest of the flour and the milk and mix briefly until smooth and creamy. Don't over-mix. The mixture will be thick.
• Spoon out the cake batter into your prepared liners and bake in the oven for approximately 18 minutes or until golden and spring back lightly to the touch. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing:

• Using a wooden spoon, combine icing sugar, butter and juice in medium bowl until smooth. Add a touch of extra milk or water to get a glossier consistency. Use a knife to spread on the cooled cupcakes.

Adapted from: https://www.sweetestmenu.com/easy-lemon-cupcakes/