The Italian Collection from Life of Spice + sausage rolls two ways

Are you looking for a perfect Christmas present for your favourite foodie?
If the answer is Yes, Life of Spice has an inspiring range of products to please any gourmet.
They produce premium gourmet rubs and spices which are stored in attractive aluminium tins.
Produced in small batches using the freshest dried herbs and spices, their versatile range offers a variety of delicious flavours.
Excellent with steaks, fish or vegetables, all Life of Spice products are vegetarian and vegan friendly, include no artificial preservatives or E-numbers.
Their produce comes in environmentally friendly aluminium tins that are fully recyclable.

Last month I received two boxes from Life of Spice range - The Italian Collection and The American Rub Collection.

The Italian Collection from Life of Spice includes an Italian Herbs herb collection, Pepper Smurf rub collection and The Italian Job salt collection.

Italian Herbs is a classic selection of Italian herbs to give that authentic trattoria taste to pizza and Italian dishes.
Ingredients: Oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram and sage.

Pepper Smurf is a classic Italian peppered steak rub with a few extra herbs to get your tastebuds singing.
Ingredients: Sea salt, rosemary, basil, marjoram, lemon peel, pepper, garlic, garlic flakes, citric acid, crushed red peppers and rice flour.

The Italian Job is a sea salt infused with basil, thyme and citrus to bring a taste of the Mediterranean to your table.
Ingredients: sea salt, basil, thyme, lemon peel, orange peel, oregano and citric acid.

Life of Spice produces all rubs and spice blends right here, in the UK, from the finest quality, freshest ingredients they can source.
Life of Spice products contain no artificial ingredients, and are gluten free and dairy free.

During the BBQ season the rubs and spice blends reign supreme, but you can obviously use them all year round. Meat eaters could cook a delicious steak with Pepper Smurf rub. Seafood, like prawns, goes really well with Italian herbs. A Greek salad could be prepared with either Italian Herbs, or The Italian Job sea salt.

Most of the dishes I prepared with the Italian Collection rubs, flavoured salt and herb blend are vegetarian, though sausage rolls were cooked with both meat (pork sausages) and vegetarian sausages.

These are versatile ingredients which will enhance many a dish. I love flavoured salts, and The Italian Job is an excellent product.

Add it to the roast potatoes or any other vegetables...

 or season the water for boiled potatoes...

A soup or stew would be enhanced by the addition of the herbs and flavoured salt. For example, cook a classic leek and potato soup with extra greens (like a courgette) and season well with Italian herbs.

My guys love sausage rolls. As we're a family with mixed diets - vegetarian + meat eaters, I do tend to cook different versions of the same dish. With sausage rolls, it's pretty easy to bake a batch which will suit different tastes.
For meat eaters use plain pork sausages as a base of the sausage rolls. For the meat-free version you might choose Linda McCartney's vegetarian sausages.

Sausage rolls two ways (makes 12)
You will need:
1 pack of Jus-Rol puff pastry, ready to roll, 320g
3 pork sausages
3 vegetarian sausages (or 6 of each, depending on your diet)
1 egg, yolk and white separated
1tsp Italian Herbs
sesame seeds (optional)

In two medium sized mixing bowls put sausages - skin the meat ones first. Beat an egg white and add to the vegetarian sausages. Sprinkle Italian herbs over both types of sausagemeat. Mash the sausages so that the herbs are incorporated. I added the egg white to the vegetarian sausages, as they are more solid and less pliable.

Roll out the puff pastry. Slice lengthways in half.
Shape the sausagemeat into long sausages which you place in the middle of the pastry. Beat the egg yolk and brush the edges of the pastry. Overlap the edges so that you have two long sausage rolls, which you slice into smaller pieces.
Brush each piece with the egg yolk and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Place the mini rolls on the oiled foil over a baking tray. Put the tray in the oven preheated to 180C. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is puffed, golden and flaky.
Eat hot, with mustard or ketchup.

Both versions are tasty.

The Italian Collection will make a lovely Christmas gift for foodies. The box looks stylish, and tins will keep the herb and salt blends fresh for longer.

If you place and order through The Life of Spice, you will receive 1 free tin with each collection ordered using the following code: LOS-NDBLG.


Disclosure: I received Life of Spice products for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are our own.