Do you know that it’s only 159 days until Christmas?
Yes, we know, we’re still in the middle of summer, the sun is shining (well some of the time) and people are more likely thinking BBQ than turkey with all the trimmings.
But, even though it’s July, we’re already well underway with our preparations for Christmas 2019.
In fact, our preparations started as early as the new year when we evaluated how Christmas 2018 went, so for example:
- We supplied 9 million pieces of Indian family favourites such as bhajia, samosa and pakora.
- We provided 9.2 million breaded cheese and jalapeno sticks
- We made 6.7 million pieces of Oriental family favourites such as spring rolls, prawn toast and wontons.
- We made 4.4 million pieces of min-loaded cheese and bacon shells
- We sent out 325,000 kilos of Tex-Mex food
Yes, that’s a lot of food and as you can imagine, this doesn’t just happen overnight.
Firstly, we study new trends; then we receive briefs from the supermarkets on what they are looking for at Christmas (to give you an idea, several of the supermarkets have already given people an early glimpse of this year’s festive ranges and vegan and plant-based options are going to be very big this year); then our New Product Development Team liaise with our chefs and that’s when the real magic happens.
They come up with a range of dishes and these are presented to the supermarkets, with some being give the green light, others being sent back for some more work, and others not making the cut at all.
From here, it’s all systems go and our manufacturing sites begin to gear up to begin producing the food that will grace supermarket shelves across the UK over the Christmas and new year period.
So, whilst Slade wished it could be Christmas every day, at SK it actually is, just don’t ask me to put on a Santa outfit in July, I’m saving that for August!
With Christmas 2019 shaping up to be the year of the vegan, here’s this week’s recipe.
Vegan Sausage Rolls
– 75g walnuts
– 1 red onion, sliced
– 3 tbsp tomato puree
– 1 tbsp miso paste
– 75g breadcrumbs (normal or gluten-free)
– 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
– 1 tsp garlic granules
– 1 tsp sage
– 1 tsp celery salt
– Pepper to taste
– Puff pastry
Method:
- Add walnuts into a food processor until you get a course mixture.
- Sauté the onion in oil until softened. Add to the food processor together with tomato puree and miso paste. Process until it becomes smooth. Add it to the bowl with the walnut mixture.
- Add breadcrumbs, paprika flour, garlic granules, sage and celery salt until you get dough-like mix. Form balls with your hands and then roll them out on a wooden board to create sausage shapes.
- Roll out the puff pastry. Place the sausage in a corner. Cut the puff pastry sheet into 4 quarters. Roll the sausage into the sheet and then fold in the ends so it’s encased on all sides. Flatten a tiny bit with your hands. Then make small horizontal cuts.
- Place on a baking tray lined with a baking paper and bake in the preheated oven at 180C (360F) for 25 min or until the puff pastry has a nice golden glow.
About Sean Flint
Development & Innovation Chef of SK Foods.
Your food. Our Passion.
