Pigs in blankets are beloved sides or appetisers at British Christmas dinners. They are great finger foods which people can easily snack on and they are delicious!
Although we’ve only ever encountered Pigs in blankets at British events, we are fully aware that this dish is also common in other cultures although with some variances. For example, in Germany, Würstchen im Schlafrock (which translates to “sausage in a dressing gown”) is eaten. However, the pastry is usually made from puff pastry. Other examples include the Moshe Ba’Teiva (which translates to “Moses in the basket”) in Israel which is covered in ketchup and, at times, is made using phyllo dough, the Argentinian version for which the sausage is topped with ketchup then wrapped with empanada dough and the American one which is wrapped in croissant dough, biscuit dough or pancakes.
For this, we have opted for a pizza dough which is one of the easiest doughs to make or purchase ready-made. The cocktail sausages are also made as a form of seitan. They are flavour packed and moreish.
Regardless of the way you choose to make your pig in a blanket, this recipe will be a delicious and easy guide for you.
Bon Appétit!
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Ingredients (makes 10-12)
Cocktail Sausages
1/2 Purple Onion, finely chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced (optional)
1tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4tsp Dried Rosemary
1/4tsp Dried Marjoram (substitute with oregano)
1/4tsp Dried Basil
1/4tsp Dried Thyme
1/2tsp Black Pepper
1/2tsp Chilli Flakes
1/2tsp Paprika
1/2tsp Ground Nutmeg
1tsp Curry Powder
150g Vital Wheat Gluten
25g Chickpea Flour
1tsp Brown Sugar
1/2tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 x 10g Vegetable Stock Cube
170ml Warm Water
1tbsp Tomato Purée
1/2tsp Liquid Smoke
1/2tsp Lemon Juice (substitute with apple cider vinegar)
1tbsp Vegan Butter, melted (optional | substitute with extra virgin olive oil)
Salt
Basic Pizza Dough (substitute with ready-made pizza dough or dough of choice)
230g All-Purpose Flour
1tsp Yeast
1tsp Sugar
1/2tsp Salt
115ml Water (+extra, if needed)
2tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)
Method
- Combine the yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl to activate the yeast.
- Combine the flour and the salt.
- Mix all the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and knead the dough on a floured surface for approximately 10mins, or until the dough springs back quickly after making a small indent into it by pressing the pad of your finger on it.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl and cover it with cling film a wet towel or a plate (depending on the size of the bowl).
- Place the bowl in a warm draft-free area for 2hrs or until the dough has doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, set up a steamer by pouring hot water into a steamer pot then placing the steaming tray, basket or metal sieve on/into the pot, covering the pot with a lid then turning the heat up to ensure the water is boiling. If you don’t have any of these steaming items, heat up about a litre of vegetable stock in a pot and let it stay at a simmer (do not substitute the stock for plain water as this will water down the flavour of the sausages).
- Heat up the oil in a saucepan and add the onions and garlic to it and fry on a medium heat level until fragrant.
- Add the herbs and spices to it and fry for an additional minute or until the mixture becomes more fragrant.
- In a bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour and nutritional yeast.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the water, stock cube, tomato purée, liquid smoke and lemon juice.
- Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and knead the mixture for approximately 5mins. Set it aside to rest for a minute once done.
- Roll out about 10cm of foil paper onto a clean flat surface.
- Divide the seitan dough into 10-12 equal portions and shape them as close to a sausage shape as you can (they will be far from perfect due to the nature of raw seitan dough).
- Place as many as you can horizontally at the edge of the foil paper ensuring you leave a 3cm gap between each of them and a 3cm gap between the first and last piece and the edge of the
- Roll the foil to wrap all the seitan piece in a way that the foil appears like a tight log.
- Twist the ends of the foil then carefully twist all the gaps between the seitan pieces. When done, the foil should resemble a string of sausages.
- Repeat until all of the seitan pieces have been encapsulated in foil.
- Place each foil string neatly in the steamer basket or metal sieve and place the lid over your pot. Let the cocktail sausages steam for 45mins. If you opted for simmering stock in a pot, place the foil strings into the pot neatly and cook the cocktail sausages for 45mins.
- Once done, let the sausages cool for about 5mins before unwrapping them.
- Preheat your oven to 190°C as you wait for the dough to finish rising.
- Once the dough is done rising, deflate it and knead it for approximately 1min.
- Cut out a small section of the dough and roll it out to about 10cm long with no more than a 1.5cm thickness.
- Starting from one end, wrap a cocktail sausage with the dough in a spiral motion without gaps between each turn of the dough.
- Repeat with the rest of your cocktail sausage. (N.B. Store excess dough in the freezer for up to 3 months).
- Line an oven tray with parchment paper and place the pigs in blankets on it with spaces between each of them.
- Bake them for 15mins or until the dough is golden brown.
- Once done, optionally, brush some melted vegan butter or extra virgin olive oil onto each pig in a blanket and sprinkle some salt over the pastry.
Serve.
Serving Suggestion: Serve with ketchup or aioli available in dipping bowls.
If you try the recipe, upload a picture of it to Instagram with the hashtag #lickyourplaterecipe or tag @lickyourplates_ and @sammysingally.food so we can have a look at it and like it.
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