Super sausage rolls

Everybody loves a classic sausage roll and home made is best. They are so easy to make - a sheet of puff pastry, a few tasty sausages and some herbs or spices. Perfect for a packed lunch or as the ultimate party snack. Here I've used my red onion marmalade to give it a sweet and spicy kick.

You will need -

1 sheet of puff pastry

8-10 sausages (depending on their size) or 400g sausage meat

2 tablespoons of red onion marmalade

black pepper

1 egg (beaten)

Take the pastry sheet out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to use it.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC and line a tray with baking parchment.

Remove the skin from the sausages (I simply snipped them lengthwise with a pair of scissors and pulled off the skin) and put the sausage meat into a bowl. Mash with a fork and then add the red onion marmalade and a few grinds of black pepper. Give it a good mix.

Unroll the pastry sheet onto a board and cut it in half lengthways. Then divide the meat mixture in half and make two sausage shapes to lay down the middle of each pastry length. Brush one side of the pastry with your beaten egg and roll up from the other side. Now chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

When the time is up, cut each length into 6 slices and place on your lined baking tray. With a sharp knife, score two little lines across the top and brush with the remaining beaten egg. Pop into your oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Raspberry and cinnamon tray bake

This is a simple tray bake which is equally delicious with a cuppa or as a pudding with custard. It's an adaptation of my blackberry and apple pudding, but I've used vegetable oil instead of butter (which makes it lactose free) and raspberries, cinnamon and ginger topped with flaked almonds.

240g caster sugar

100ml vegetable oil

50ml water

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs, beaten

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp mixed spice

300g self-raising flour

250g raspberries

For the topping you will need -

60g demerara sugar

75g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line a baking tin (34cm x 25cm) with greaseproof paper.

Put the oil and caster sugar into a large bowl and whisk together. Add the beaten eggs, water and vanilla extract and continue whisking until well combined. Sieve in the dry ingredients mixing everything thoroughly together and lastly, stir in the raspberries. Pour the mixture into your baking dish and sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top followed by the flaked almonds.

Put into your preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the dish before portioning into slices or squares.

I have also made this with chunks of rhubarb but the raspberries were a favourite in our house!

Tomato tarte tatin

A savoury version of that French classic, made here with colourful cherry tomatoes, Balsamic vinegar and a splash of honey.

This is not as easy as my apple tarte tatin recipe as the tomatoes release a lot of liquid when they're cooked, and if you're not careful, you end up with a soggy tart. (I'm speaking from experience here!) So, the trick is to cook the tomatoes first and drain off the juices.

approx 300g puff pastry (I used a store bought ready-made all butter puff pastry sheet)

about 700g cherry tomatoes (different colours are nice)

50g unsalted butter

2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon of honey

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

salt and pepper

You will need a tarte tatin dish or a 20cm heavy-based ovenproof frying pan.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

The first thing to do is cut a circle out of your puff pastry sheet, slightly larger than the pan, and place it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Put your tarte tatin dish on the hob on a low heat, melt the butter and add the tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes, pressing down as they cook to release the juices. Take the pan off the heat and using a slotted spoon, take the tomatoes out of the tin and put onto a plate.

Now put the pan back on the heat, and add the honey and Balsamic vinegar. Simmer for a couple of minutes which will allow the liquid to reduce slightly and thicken and then remove the pan from the heat.

Allow to cool slightly and then carefully arrange the tomatoes in the tin in one even layer with no gaps. Leave any juices behind on the plate. Sprinkle with the thyme, salt and pepper. You could also use grated parmesan.

Take the pastry circle out of the fridge and carefully place it on top of the tomatoes, tucking it in all around the edge.

Prick the top of the pastry a few times (to let any steam out) and place it in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is crisp and brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pastry and turning it out onto your serving plate.

The easiest way to do this is to invert your plate on top of the tin and turn the whole thing upside down. Oven gloves recommended as the tin will still be hot.

Garnish with thyme sprigs and serve warm.