Real figgy fig rolls!

Feeling very proud of myself at the moment (if a little old before my time) because I spent yesterday afternoon gardening! Sounds a bit sad I know but actually it was very satisfying and the gardens looking great now!

We came back from holiday last weekend and because of all the rain while we had been away the garden had gone from looking slightly overgrown to looking like noone lives there. We had to do something but didn't know where to start. Luckily Andys parents are quite handy with a trowel and they came over to help so between the four of us we managed to get it looking presentable again.

With the in laws descending at short notice I had to think fast for a tasty snack to offer them with a cup of tea and because there was a diabetic amongst us it has to be very low sugar. I eventually came across some dried figs and some ready made pastry and hoped that my idea would work. It did! My fig rolls were much tastier than shop bought ones and had a much better ratio of pastry to filling. I wouldn't normally use ready made pastry because I like making things from scratch and also because I would usually choose whole meal flour for extra fibre but these were so quick and easy using the shop bought I would probably do the same again.

Heres what I did...

Ingredients:

150g dried figs
Juice half a lemon
100 mls water
I sheet just roll short crust pastry
1 teaspoon Demerara sugar
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Simmer figs, water, lemon juice and salt in a pan until figs are soft and most of the water has been absorbed then mash the mixture with a fork.

Next roll out the pastry into a rectangle About the size of an A4 piece of paper and cut into 2 smaller rectangles (A5 size)

Spoon the fig mixture along one edge of each peace and roll them over into a sausage roll shape with the fold facing down.

Cut each sausage into small pieces about an inch and a half thick. You should get about 6 from each sausage.

Sprinkle the tips of the fig rolls with he sugar and bake on a greased baking tray at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.

These are a great snack for someone wanting to cut down on refined sugar because most of the sweetness comes from the figs themselves. They are also packed with fibre and slow release energy. I know the pastry isn't really that good for you but it should be quite thin and compared to high sugar shop bought alternatives this is tonnes better for you!

I reckon 1 piece is about 120 calls which is twice as much as a shop bought one but 10 times as nice and also triple the amount of fibre! So get stuck in!

Xx