Festive Sausage Roll Wreath

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 250g unsalted, frozen butter

• 400g plain flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (optional)

• About 260ml very cold water

• 1 egg, beaten (for the egg wash)

Filling:

• 300g sausage meat (or vegetarian sausage meat - Plant Pioneers works very well!)

• 60g breadcrumbs

• 70g dried apricots, diced

• 100g cooked and peeled chestnuts, chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme (chopped)

• Zest of 1/4 an orange

• 1 tsp grated nutmeg

• Salt and pepper

• Cranberry sauce to serve

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Method:

1. For the pastry -freeze the butter for around an hour, it needs to be very solid.  

2. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and grate the frozen butter. It helps if you dip the butter in
   the flour so that it doesn't all lump together. Try to avoid touching it for
   too long and letting it melt in your hands - use the foil of the butter to
   prevent this!  

3. Once all the butter is grated, use a palette knife to toss the butter in the flour until it is all
   coated.  

4. Add the vinegar(which gives a more tender, flaky pastry).  

5. Pour the very cold water very slowly into the flour and butter. Pour just a few tablespoons at a
   time and mix with the knife, and keep adding until it just comes together. The
   amount really depends on the absorption of the flour, so keep a careful eye on this!
   It should leave the bowl clean, but you don't want a sticky dough!  

6. Once it comes together, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.  

7. Meanwhile make the filling. Remove the sausage (or veggie sausage) meat from the skins, and add
   the breadcrumbs.  

8. Add the chopped dried apricots, chestnuts, thyme, orange zest, nutmeg and salt and then get
   stuck in with your hands and mix it all together.  

9. Form a log with themixture, around 45cm long.  

10. Preheat the oven to190 C (fan) 

11. Once the pastry has chilled and rested, roll it out onto a floured surface. You will see the
    streaks of butter, but if the pastry is not smooth (the frozen butter has
    clumped together), roll and fold a few times until you no longer see any large
    lumps. 

12. Roll it out to around 30x45cm and spoon the cranberry sauce in the middle, before placing the
    filling on top.  

13. Fold the pastry over the top of the filling and then continue rolling, sealing the edge with a
    little egg wash.  

14. Starting in themiddle, make 10-12 cuts that go 4/5 of the way through the roll and carefuly
    arrange the roll so that it forms a circle. Twist each section over slightly in
    the same direction to create the wreath pattern.  

15. Brush with eggwash, then bake for 30 minutes until a lovely golden brown. 

16. Serve with cranberry sauce, and enjoy!  

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