Oink oink

I mentioned that we brought a picnic to our Aussie football outing on Sunday. Nothing major, since it wasn't at a mealtime, but I wanted to bring some substantial finger food. I came up with this, knowing how Australians share my fondness for sausage (affectionately referred to here as "snags"). The main bit is roughly based upon a recipe from Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Bites, and the dipping sauce is my own inspiration/insanity.

Maiali in coperte (Pigs in Blankets, Italian style) with salsa pazzesco

Pigs
4 Italian-style sausages

Blankets
375 g/11 oz flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
25 g/1 oz grated pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano cheese*
250 ml/10 oz milk

1 egg
3 tbsp olive oil

Blanket glaze
1 egg, beaten lightly with

splash milk and
pinch salt

Dipping sauce
75 g/3 oz ketchup**
handful basil leaves
2 cloves roasted garlic
splash Tabasco sauce

1. Roast the sausages and let cool.

2. Whisk together the dry blanket ingredients, then beat in the wet ingredients. Stir together with a fork to make a scone-like dough just dry enough to roll out. Line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat the oven to 220C/425F.

3. Roll out dough, using plenty of flour. Cut four pieces about the right size to wrap around your sausages. (You are probably going to have extra dough—mine became cheesy scones for Monday night's dinner.)

4. Wrap sausages snugly in dough, and place seam-side down on baking sheet.

5. Brush blanket dough with glaze.

6. Cook pigs in blankets for about 15 minutes, or until dough is puffy and golden.

7. While pigs are cooking, dump all dipping sauce ingredients in a food processor and puree.

8. Allow pigs to cool, then slice into bite-sized pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* Next time I would use more cheese. This amount didn't pack enough cheesy punch. Also maybe some mustard powder to give even more oomph.

** I figured, people make sauces out of jazzed-up mayonnaise all the time. Why not jazzed-up ketchup?