Sunday 8 July 2012

Gold Plaited Supper

Torta Salata Trizzata con Funghi e Salsiccia Piccante
Mushroom & Spicy Sausage Pastry Plait




Now I know what people mean when they say "easy as pie"- because this intricate looking pastry is in fact so easy to make that you might ask yourself why you haven't made already before! My favorite fact about it, is that yet again, it is made from the last left-over piece of puff-pastry I had in the fridge and still turned out to be something wonderful!


So, ok, I admit that this is not much of a recipe... but what it IS, is a pretty good idea for making simple pastries a little bit more attractive. It is the method that is fun and the main thing that I wanted share... but that being said, I do have to tell you that the result was delicious!


I started out by unrolling my last piece of dough, which was something like 6x8" in size. I divided it optically into thirds and then proceeded to make parallel cuts to the 2 outer thirds- that means I cut the 2 outer pieces and leave the middle third intact. It was actually pretty easy!

For the filling, I cut about a 3" chunk of spicy sausage into thin slices and sautéed it in a dry frying pan with 4 sliced brown mushrooms. After frying for a minute or so, I added some sliced Spring onion, fennel seed and finely chopped parsley. I seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg and once these ingredients were done, 4-5 minutes later, I turned off the heat and removed them from the stove to cool.


I spooned the mushroom and sausage mix onto the middle section of the dough and then proceeded to plait the pastry, working from the outside-in and alternating, so that I finally ended up with the last strips of dough directly in the middle. Off it went into a pre-heated oven at 400°F for around 15 minutes... and when it came out it looked like this! 

I served mine cool, with a side salad of arugula and cherry tomatoes. I seasoned the tomatoes for the salad with some fresh oregano blossoms which were very- and enjoyed this wonderful Summer dish with a glass of chilled Verdicchio... perfect!


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