Relishing the sausage roll: a bilingual recipe from WhānauKai cookbook (2024)

Baking should be a simple pleasure, and in the bilingual WhānauKai, baker Naomi Toilalo shares more than 70 of her tohutao reka - delicious recipes - all made without fancy equipment or hard-to-find ingredients.

Pōhā tōtiti - Sausage rolls

Makes 16

Sausage rolls immediately take me back to working in the woolsheds on our farm. I was one of the rousies (shed hands) responsible for sorting the wool. It was never my favourite job but it was made better by Mum's yummy smoko and lunches. Often, she'd bring up a tray of freshly baked sausage rolls with a container of tomato sauce and a few other baked goodies.

Te tōtiti/The sausage

Kia kotahi aniana iti/1 small onion
Kia kotahi kokonui noni/1 Tbsp oil
Kia kotahi kāroti nui kua waruwaruhia/1 large carrot, grated
Kia rua kokoiti smoked paprika/2 tsp smoked paprika
Kia rua kokoiti pāhiri pūtī/2 tsp dried basil
Kia 250 karamu pēkana ropiropi/250g smoked streaky bacon
Kia hautoru kapu kīnaki tōmato/⅓ cup tomato relish (store-bought)
Kia 5 tōtiti reme, tōtiti kau rānei/5 lamb or beef sausages

1. Peel and dice the aniana. Add the noni and aniana to a frying pan and cook over low heat until transparent.

2. Add the kāroti, smoked paprika, pāhiri pūtī and pēkana ropiropi. Cook until the vegetables are soft and any liquid has evaporated.

3. Tukua te kīnaki tōmato. Add the tomato relish. Cook for a further 5 minutes until the sauce has reduced. Whakatāwaratia ki te tote me te pepa. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Tip the mixture into a bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Cut the casings from the tōtiti and squeeze the meat into the bacon mixture. Mix with your hands until combined.

1. Whakamahanatia te umu kia 170 te pāmahana. Heat the oven to 170C.

2. If using the rough puff pastry, roll it out into a 5mm thick rectangle measuring about 60 x 25cm. Cut the pastry into four even pieces.

3. If using pre-rolled pastry sheets, cut each square in half to yield four pieces.

4. Take a piece of pastry and place a quarter of the meat mixture on to the lower third of it. Shape the meat into a horizontal log. Fold the pastry edge closest to you over the meat and roll up tightly. Repeat this process with the remaining pastry and meat. Cut each roll into four, so you end up with 16 sausage rolls.

5. Place the rolls on a tray lined with baking paper, leaving room between them so they can rise and cook evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve with tomato relish.

Pōhā kōpuku - Puff pastry

Buttery rough puff pastry is ideal for pies, sausage rolls and my custard slice. It's ready to go in just over an hour and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. There's no need for any special equipment here – all you need are your ringaringa (hands) and a rākau pokepoke (a rolling pin).

Ingredients

Kia 190 karamu pata mātao/190g chilled butter

Kia rua kapu puehu parāoa/2 cups flour

He kini tote/Pinch of salt

2. Place the puehu parāoa, pata and tote in a bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the pata into the puehu parāoa, leaving visible bits of pata. Add the wai and work it through to form a dough.

3. Roll the dough to a 15 x 30cm rectangle on a lightly floured bench.

4. Fold the top third of the pastry down and the bottom third of the pastry on top, like you're folding a letter. Rotate the pastry 90 degrees. Roll it out again to 15 x 30cm and repeat the folds. Chill for 30 minutes, then repeat the rolling and folding process twice more (so you will have rolled out and folded the dough four times in all).

5. Wrap the dough in baking paper and chill for 30 minutes. The pastry is now ready to use. If you don't want to use it straight away, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Edited extract from WhānauKai - Feel-good baking to share aroha and feed hungry tummies by Naomi Toilalo. Published by HarperCollins, RRP $55