Victorian Bacon Roli Poli Recipes

VICTORIAN BACON ROLI-POLI

Steps:

• Combine the Flour and Suet with the raising agents and Salt and bring together to a soft but not sticky dough with a little cold Water.
• Chill for 30 minutes.
• Mix together the miced beef with the chopped Onion, Thyme and Parsley and season with Salt and Pepper.
• Flatten this mixture on a flexible mat or clingfilm to a rectangular shape about 30cm by 20cm.The flexible mat will help when transfering it onto the pastry.
• Roll the Pastry on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin into a rectangular shape about 1/2 cm thick and slightly larger then the meat mixture sheet.
• Using your best knitting skills, make a Lattice with the bacon rashers on top of the pastry, leaving about 2 cm around the edges.
• Transfer the flattened meat mixture on top of the bacon and sprinkle the other fillings all over.
• Moisten the edges with water and roll the whole thing up into a Roli-Poli.
• Squish the ends together and leave the seam underneath.
• Place the Roli-Poli into a tin foil lined steamer basket and cover/seal with foil, leaving enough space for the pastry to expand.
• Steam this now for about 1 1/2 hours.
• Carefully remove the Roli-Poli and place it into a greaseproof paper lined and oiled baking tray and put it into the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes to brown the surface.
• Once it has nicely browned, take it out and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
• Cut into thick slices and serve.

JAM ROLY-POLY

Steps:

• Put a deep roasting tin onto the bottom shelf of the oven, and make sure that there's another shelf directly above it. Pull the roasting tin out on its shelf, fill two-thirds with boiling water from the kettle, then carefully slide it back in. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tear off a large sheet of foil and greaseproof paper (about 30 x 40cm). Sit the greaseproof on top of the foil and butter it.
• Tip butter, flour and vanilla seeds into a food processor; pulse until the butter has disappeared. Tip into a mixing bowl. Stir through the suet, pour in the milk and work together with a cutlery knife until you get a sticky dough. You may need a drop more milk, depending on your flour.
• Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, quickly pat together to smooth, then roll out to a square roughly 25 x 25cm. Spread the jam all over, leaving a gap along one edge, then roll up from the opposite edge. Pinch the jam-free edge into the dough where it meets, and pinch the ends roughly, too. Carefully lift onto the greased paper, join-side down (you might find a flat baking sheet helpful for this), loosely bring up the paper and foil around it, then scrunch together along the edges and ends to seal. The roly-poly will puff quite a bit during cooking so don't wrap it tightly. Lift the parcel directly onto the rack above the tin and cook for 1 hr.
• Let the pudding sit for 5 mins before unwrapping, then carefully open the foil and paper, and thickly slice to serve.