The Baked Bean Challenge - Round 1!

We have embarked on a fascinating journey to discover the answer to one of the world's most pondered questions: what really is the best brand of baked bean??

In the running are.....
Heinz
Sainsbury's Own
Sainsbury's Basics
Tesco's Own
Lidl's Own (Campo Largo)
Asda's Own
Asda's Smart Price
Aldi's Own

The challenge will take the format of a League, with two brands up against each other in a blind taste test in each round and the winners going through to the next stage.

SO... Round 1: Lidls VS Heinz (oooooh)

And the results................ (scroll down)









LIDLS!!!

I know, it's a shocker, but the judges' decision is final. It was a tough one, and although Heinz had a stronger, more tomato-y flavour, the beans were far more mushy and Lidls had the overall best flavour and texture.
In terms of nutrition, most differences between the two were negliigible, however Lidls also comes out on top with only 65 calories, compared to 79 in 100g of Heinz. Also, in a tin, Lidls gives you 5 extra grams of beany goodness, with 420g per tin compared to Heinz's 415g.

What will the next round hold in store?! Watch this space!

Sausage Rolls

I'm going to give you my vegetarian and meat sausage roll recipes, for both of which I use Delia's flaky pastry recipe, so here that is first (of course if you don't have much time you can just use pre-made puff pastry from the supermarket):

Quick Flaky Pastry
225g plain flour
175g butter
pinch of salt
cold water, to mix
1 egg, beaten, to glaze

- Weigh out the butter and then wrap it either in it's packet or in tin foil, then put it in the freezer for 30-45mins.
- Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
- When the butter is ready, hold it in the foil, dip it into the flour, and grate it on a coarse grater into the flour. Keep dipping it into the flour to make it easier to grate.
- Using a palette knife (not your hands) try to distribute the butter so that it all ends up covered with flour and the mixture is crumbly.
- Add enough water to form a dough that leaves the bowl clean, using your hands to bring it all together.
- When done, put it in a sandwich bag in the fridge for 30mins.

Pork and Apple Sausage Roll Mix
450g pork sausagemeat (you can empty out the insides of any kind of sausage for this - even cheap ones will taste delicious)
1 onion, grated (or chopped if you want a coarser texture or can't be bothered!)
1 teaspoon sage
half an apple, peeled and chopped into small chunks

- Just mix it all together!

Glamorgan Sausage Roll Mix
250g breadcrumbs (any kind of bread is fine)
200g grated cheddar cheese
1 onion, chopped
1 tblsp chopped chives
1 ½ tsp mustard powder
pinch chilli powder
¾ tsp salt

(I don't have a full size food processor, but you can use one of the handheld mixers, or if you don't have one of these then just mix it together well by hand, it'll be coarser but I'm sure just as tasty!)
- Mix everything together in a bowl and then process.

To make the sausage rolls:
- Roll out the pastry on a floury board, thinly and into a rectangle. Cut it into three strips (it's not an exact science, just make sure that they are wide enough to fit a sausage-sized amount of mix and that the pastry will overlap when it fold it around).
- Put a sausage-sized amount of filling along each strip of pastry.
- Beat an egg and brush it along the edge of each strip, then fold it up and seal it, then roll in over so that the seal is underneath.
- Cut into individual sausage rolls, brush the tops with beaten egg, and snip 3 v-shapes in the top of each sausage roll with scissors (not strictly necessary but looks nice!)
- Place on a greased tray or baking sheet and bake at 220ºC for 20-25mins.

(The ones on the left are Glamorgans, and Pork & Apple on the right, not my neatest!)

YUM!