Mini Sausage Plaits

Ingredients

Shortcut puff pastry

• 600g plain flour
• pinch salt
• 100g butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 200g butter, frozen
• 300ml water

For the filling

• 300g chestnut mushrooms, trimmed
• 2 tbsp thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp soft brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 300g good quality sausagemeat
• 100g black pudding, cut into 1-2cm pieces
• 1 egg beaten, to glaze
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

1. 1
   Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Rub in the chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water to form a dough (about 4-6 tablespoons of water).
2. 2
   Roll the dough out into a rectangle on a lightly floured work surface.
3. 3
   Grate all of the frozen butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third as if folding a letter.
4. 4
   Turn the folded dough through 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle again.
5. 5
   Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before repeating the turns a further two times, chilling in-between each turn. In total you will have done four turns
6. 6
   Preheat the oven to 375F. Choose 1 large baking sheet.
7. 7
   Put the mushrooms in a food processor and season with salt and pepper. Pulse until the mushrooms are broken down to a rough paste. Add the thyme and give the mix a final pulse.
8. 8
   Put the mushroom mix into a dry frying pan on a medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until all the moisture has evaporated from the mushrooms. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.
9. 9
   Meanwhile, using the same pan heat the oil and butter over a medium-low heat. Add the onions and sugar and cook slowly until the onions are very soft and sweet. This will take at least 20 minutes. Once caramelized, stir in the sherry vinegar.
10. 10
    Roll out the block of pastry into a large rectangle, and cut each into 12, 6in x 6in squares. (Note: On a warm day pop the pastry squares in the fridge to keep them chilled – they will be easier to plait.) Divide the mushroom mixture into 12 and spread the mushroom paste down the central third of each square of pastry, leaving a 2cm gap at the top and bottom.
11. 11
    Mix the sausage meat with the black pudding and mold into 12 sausage shapes that will fit on top of the mushroom paste. Place on top of the mushroom paste and then spread the caramelized onions on top of this.
12. 12
    Make 2 small diagonal cuts from each corner of the pastry, to remove a small triangle. Then fold the top and bottom 'wings' to seal in the sausage meat. Cut ½ in strips all the way down the pastry on each side of the filling. Bring one strip over the filling from one side, then one from the other and so on, crossing the strips over to form a plaited effect. Tuck the ends of the pastry under the plait, trimming off excess if necessary.
13. 13
    Repeat with the remaining 11 squares of pastry until you have 12 mini sausage plaits. Place the plaits on the baking sheets, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
14. 14
    Bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Leave to settle for 5 minutes or so, and then serve hot or cold.