Georgie Revill is the owner of the Cook Shack, a bespoke cookery school and catering business, based in Bride

She specialises in creating simple and delicious meals made with fresh, local Manx produce.

Living on an island, I feel makes you that bit more spirited, resilient and pliable. Our amazing local food industry is definitely growing and very much open for business especially during this period of adversity.

It’s the time when our island’s farmers and fishermen are at the fore and now more than ever we certainly could not live without them.

With the Cook Shack cookery school being a place that does not exactly lend itself to social distancing, I’ve turned my days to creating cheap and cheerful videos on how to bake and cook with local produce. With a series of videos taking you through the process of creating the perfect sourdough loaf from just Laxey flour, water and salt, there is quite the cult following on the Cook Shack Facebook page.

Easy Rough Puff Pastry

Ingredients:

325 grams of Laxey plain flour

Seven ounces Isle of Man Creamery butter, frozen

Eight to 10 tablespoons chilled water

One tablespoon lemon juice.

Method

Place the butter in the freezer for a minimum of two hours but preferably overnight.

In a jug, mix together the chilled water and lemon juice and set aside.

In a large bowl measure the flour and grate in the frozen butter. Stir the butter into the flour with a knife. Frozen butter is the secret ingredient. The colder the butter the flakier the pastry.

Add in the liquid, holding a little back just in case you don’t need it all.

Using your hand, bring your pastry together gently. You want to add just enough water to bring the pastry together. Too much water will not yield you a flaky dough.

Bring the dough together to form a ball. Then flatten into a rectangle. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of one hour.

Turn out onto a lightly-floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle.

Roll the dough in one direction only, until three times the width, about 20 by 50cm. Keep the edges straight and even, and don’t overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect.

Fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that.

Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length.

Fold as before, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 minutes before rolling to use.

Your pastry can be kept in the fridge for up to three days or wrap well, bag or vacuum seal and place in the freezer.

Perfect Manx Sausage Rolls

Ingredients:

Your homemade puff pastry (or a packet of shop-bought pastry)

Nigella or sesame seeds

For the caramelised red onions: One medium red onion, thinly sliced, one tablespoon of olive oil, cranberry sauce and balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt.

For the sausagemeat filling:

One pound of Manx butcher’s sausagemeat

Half a teaspoon of nutmeg

One red onion, finely grated

Two garlic cloves

Two teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme

One small eating apple, grated

One chicken stock cube

salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Method:

For the caramelised onions, gently fry the onions in olive oil until very soft and lightly coloured.

Add the cranberry sauce and balsamic vinegar. Simmer for a couple of minutes until syrupy and season to taste. Place in small bowl and press a piece of baking parchment onto the surface, and leave to cool.

To make the filling, place all the ingredients in a bowl including the cooled caramelised onions and mix together until well combined.

Roll out the rest of the pastry into a rectangle, around five mm thick, about 36cm long and 25cm wide.

Roll the filling into a long sausage shape and place in the centre of the pastry.

Fold one side of the pastry over the top of the filling.

Brush the pastry with some beaten egg where the join will be.

Bring the other side of the pastry over the top and seal to form a tight roll. Turn it over so the seam is at the bottom. Trim the ends.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment, cut the sausage roll into 12 pieces and place on the baking tray.

Sprinkle with sesame or Nigella seeds then brush with egg wash and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas mark six.

Bake the sausage rolls on the middle shelf for 15-20 minutes until golden-brown and the filling is cooked through.