I got the sausage from Marx Foods on Wednesday afternoon – it’s Lamb Merguez. I’ve never even heard of it, but it sounded tasty. Originally, I was going to make ravioli, but when I thought about how difficult it would be to roll out the pasta without a machine, I changed my mind. I decided instead to make the same stuffing and put it in puff pastry pockets.

Measurements are approximate; as usual, I didn’t use measuring cups.

Pastry Pockets with Asiago Cheese and Lamb Merguez Sausage (there has to be a shorter name for this.. suggestions?)

1/2 C freshly shredded asiago cheese

1/4 C freshly shredded parmesan cheese

2T cream cheese

4 links Lamb Merguez Sausage

2 t fresh rosemary

2 t fresh thyme (I love having an herb garden!)

4 sheets puff pastry

1 egg, beaten with a bit of water

Take the puff pastry sheets out of the box and separate them; let them sit about 20 minutes to thaw. They’re easier to unfold if they’re still just a tiny bit frozen.

Remove the sausage from the casing and brown in a skillet. Since I’d never had it before, I didn’t salt or add anything to it. Drain the fat off the meat (I rinsed it, too, but that’s a personal preference.) The sausage was kind of hard to break apart while it was cooking, so after I rinsed it, I tossed it in the food processor and gave it a few whirls just to break it up into smaller pieces.

Mix everything together in a bowl except the egg.

Cut each sheet of puff pastry into nine sections.

Place a small spoonful of the mixture in the center of each square.

Brush the edges with the egg/water mixture.

Put another square of pastry on top, pinch the edges together, and brush the top with the egg wash.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes, checking occasionally, until the pastry is tall and fluffy, and the tops are golden brown.

Eat like a pig. Holy cow, I don’t normally toot my own horn, but hello. Oink.

(P.S. This isn’t part of the recipe, obviously, but it was so pretty I had to take a picture. Mixed organic baby greens and rainbow chard with tomatoes – I love all the colours!)