Ingredients

Method

• 400 g Woolworths free-range duck sausages
For the cream-cheese pastry:
• 240 g flour
• 1/2t salt
• 250 g cold butter
• 250 g grated cream cheese
• 1 free-range egg, beaten
• 1 T water
For the apricot blatjang:
• 250 g dried apricots, finely chopped
• 100 g sultanas
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup malt or sherry vinegar
• 1 cup vino cotto
• 1 red chilli, chopped
• 1 t mustard seeds
• 5 T Muscovado sugar

Method

Ingredients

1. Remove the sausage meat from the casings. To make the pastry, place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter using your fingertips or use a food processor until it’s the consistency of breadcrumbs. Mix in the cream cheese. Bring together to form a ball, wrap in clingwrap and chill for an hour or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Beat the egg and water together. Unwrap the pastry and roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of about 3 mm. Cut in half horizontally.

3. Spoon half the sausage meat down the middle of each piece, shaping it neatly into a long sausage. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg, then bring it over the sausage meat and seal using a fork. Cut into pieces about 8 cm long. Cut out stars from the pastry scraps.

4. Brush the top with egg, top with the star cut-outs and brush with egg again. Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve with the blatjang.

5. To make the blatjang, place all the ingredients except the sugar into a pan and gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar and simmer until thick. Cool and spoon into a jar. Cover and chill.

Chef Tip: Use pork, chicken or lamb sausages if you prefer. The blatjang makes a great gift, so triple the batch.

Find more starter ideas for your festive table here.

Photographer: Jan Ras
Production: Abigail Donnelly
Food Assistant: Bianca Strydom and Marcelle De Wet