Honey bacon & sausage roll

Christmas isn't just about the turkey, create this dinner party show stopper with local sausages to switch things up this festive season.

SERVES: 10-12 PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOK TIME: 55 MINS

Ingredients...

• 50g butter

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, crushed

• 400g Lincolnshire sausage meat, such as Mountain's Boston sausages, Uncle Henry's or Grasmere Farm

• 30g flaked almonds, toasted

• 25g fresh white breadcrumbs

• 1 Love Local egg, beaten

• 2 tsp dried thyme

• 8 dried dates, chopped

• 250g Uncle Henry’s traditional dry cured back bacon (smoked)

• 2 tbsp clear honey from the Love Local range

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/fan 160ºC/Gas 4. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened.

2. Tip into a mixing bowl and add all the other ingredients, except the bacon and honey. Season with salt and pepper before squishing together with your hands until well mixed.

3. Cover a baking sheet with foil then parchment. Place one bacon rasher horizontally at the top of the sheet then layer the others underneath in vertical lines, overlapping slightly.

4. Shape the meat mixture into a fat sausage and place on the centre of the bacon. Use the paper to help roll the ingredients into a log shape, then remove the paper and wrap the log in the foil.

5. Stand the roll on the baking sheet, seal the foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove wrapping, brush honey over the bacon and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the bacon has crisped. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Cut into 1cm-wide slices and serve warm.