Sausage, Chestnut & Stilton Wreath with Gochujang & Cranberry Chutney
From Ainsley’s Festive Flavours, ITV
A tasty puff pastry sausage roll with a spicy festive twist that’s great for sharing. Chestnuts and salty stilton with sweet, spicy gochujang and tangy cranberry is a delicious flavour combination. My quick and easy chutney is a tasty accompaniment and a good way to use up leftover cranberry sauce. Perfect for a festive buffet or sharing treat – warm or cold.
Method
Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, thyme and grate in a little of the whole nutmeg. Cook for a further 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
In a bowl mix the sausage meat, cooled onions and garlic, chestnuts and stilton until well combined Season with salt (not too much as the cheese is salty) and a pinch of white pepper. Chill until needed.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle of approx. 25cm x 50cm with the long edge facing you. Mix together the cranberry sauce, gochujang and honey and spread lengthways down the centre of the pastry in a thick line.
Lay a large sheet of baking paper on your work surface. Shape the sausage meat into a log shape along one edge of the paper. Fold the paper over the sausage and roll into a tight, even log the length of the pastry (alternatively shape the sausage into a log with floured hands). Unroll the paper to place the log in the middle of the pastry on top of the cranberry. Brush the far edge of the pastry with beaten egg and then tightly fold the nearest edge of pastry up and over the sausage meat to enclose it. Continue rolling until you have a long sausage roll. Press the edge down to seal (if needed press down the seal with a floured fork). Gently pull along the length of the roll to make it slightly longer if you wish.
Carefully place the sausage roll on to the lined baking tray, seam side down and then gently bring the ends together to make a wreath. Brush the ends with some beaten egg to seal together. Cover and chill for 20-25 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180Cfan/Gas 6.
Use a sharp knife to cut about 2/3rds through the roll from the outer edge (leaving the inner circle of pastry connected). Do this every 3 cm around the wreath so that you have 12-14 sections. Carefully twist each section a little so that some of the sausage meat is facing up. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and scatter with sesame and nigella seeds.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden and the sausage meat is cooked through.
Meanwhile make the quick chutney: Heat a small drizzle of oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the star anise and ginger. Cook for 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Add the cranberry sauce, orange zest and juice, honey and gochujang. Stir well and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and cook gently for 4-6 minutes. Season to taste and allow to cool (can be served warm or cold)
Remove the sausage wreath from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve the chutney in a small bowl or ramekin fitted in the centre of the wreath. Delicious hot or cold.
TIP: place an ovenproof ramekin in the centre of the wreath before/during baking so that the dish fits perfectly.
Ingredients
- 450g plain pork sausage meat
- 1 small or medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 1 nutmeg, for grating or ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 120g ready-to-eat chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 80-100g stilton, chopped or crumbled
- sea salt & white pepper
- 3 tbsp good quality cranberry sauce
- 1 tsp gochujang
- 2 tsp honey
- 500g block of all-butter puff pastry
- plain flour, for dusting
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- For the Chutney
- 1 star anise
- 2cm fresh root ginger, grated
- 180g good quality cranberry sauce
- ½ orange, juice & zest
- 2 tsp honey
- 2-4 tsp gochujang (more or less according to taste)