Chorizo & pear puff pastry roll

Ingredients

• 2 pears
• 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
• 600g cooking chorizo sausages, out of their skins
• 320g pack of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry sheet
• Plain flour, for dusting
• 2 egg yolks

Method

Peel, core and roughly chop one of the pears. Put the chopped pear in a small saucepan with the mustard seeds and a splash of water and cook over a medium heat, uncovered, for 10 mins until the pear is soft. Use a potato masher to crush it into a puree. Set aside to cool.

Put the chorizo meat into a mixing bowl and use your hands to break it up. Peel and core the other pear, finely dice its flesh and mix into the chorizo. When the pear puree is cool, mix that in too. Shape the chorizo mixture into a sausage about 30cm long, wrap firmly, and chill for 20 mins to firm up.

Meanwhile, line a large baking tray with baking paper. Dust it lightly with flour and unfurl the puff pastry sheet onto it. Put into the fridge.

Beat the egg yolks with 2 tbsp water to make your egg wash.

Take the pastry tray from the fridge. Unwrap the chorizo onto the pastry, positioning it so that it is parallel with, and about 3cm in from, one of the long edges. Working as quickly as you can, lightly brush one long edge of the pastry with the egg wash, then carefully lift that edge over the chorizo to meet the pastry at the other side. Use the paper to help you. Press the edges together firmly and use your hands to shape the pastry and the sausage into a firm roll. Dust a fork with flour and press it along the length of the seam to seal and make indents.

Preheat the oven to 210C.

Lightly brush the pastry with more of the egg wash and chill for 10 mins. Then give it another brush with egg wash and lightly score the top of the roll with a sharp knife. Chill again for 10 mins. Trim the long edge to neaten it, give your chorizo roll one last brush with egg wash, and put into the oven for 30-35 mins. It’s ready when a probe thermometer inserted into the middle of the roll reads 75C or above – if you don’t have a thermometer, insert a metal skewer and test that it’s very hot to the touch when you remove it.

Remove the chorizo roll from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack to cool for 10 mins before trimming the ends and cutting to serve. It’s best enjoyed still warm from the oven, but is good at room temperature too.

Image: Kim Lightbody

Recipe from Borough Market: The Knowledge with Angela Clutton (Hodder & Stoughton 2022)