Mince Pizza Rolls

These are my healthy version of Vetkoek.  Very similar to the real thing but without all the frying in oil.  They take a little longer to make but are well worth it. 

1kg readymade fresh dough from your local shop.  If it is not on the shelves ask the bakery for some.  It's around R10 a kg
1 packet mince around 500gms
Onion
Garlic
Jam whatever kind you have that is sweet.  Marmalade while yummy on toast is not good with this dish.
Mince spice or whatever spices you prefer to flavour your mince with I use a tsp of curry powder, paprika, S&P and green stuff be it basil, mixed herbs, parsley whatever you have on the spice rack.
Tomato puree a good one, the cheap stuff is not right for this dish.  Don't use tomato and onion mix or whole tomatoes, they are too wet for this mince dish.  The mince needs to be dry not wet and saucy.
Cheese lots of it.




Fry the mince up in the normal way.
Onion and garlic first, then add the mince and brown it nicely.
Add the spices the Jam (I used tomato jam because it's not to sweet) and half the tin of Tomato puree and set the rest aside for later.
Fry it all for 10 min getting out as much moisture as possible.  I ONLY use lean mince ever and it makes a HUGE difference in all my dishes in general.  It's a quality thing, the amount of moisture that comes out of normal everyday mince is horrible and leaves all my dishes when I use it with a greasy flavour, so while I am cheap on most things I don't skimp on mince.  Get the best quality you can for this dish or the rolls will go soggy and sloppy rather than staying firm and soft inside.
Once the mince is cooked, put it in a bowl and stick it in the fridge to cool for about an hour.  I normally make the mince a few hours before I am ready to make supper and just leave it in the fridge till I am ready, it must be cold since your hands will be right in the dish and you don't want to wind up with burnt fingers.  If you are trying to make this dish for supper and don't have time to cool it for a hour or 2, then cover a tray or big bowl in foil and flatten the mince onto the foil and spread it out as much as possible and stick it in the freezer while you make the rolls it won't be cold but you won't burn blisters on your hands.
Ok so mince done.

First spray and cook a tray to use.
Divide the dough up into equal sized balls about the size of a tennis ball.   You can do this earlier as well and cover the dough with a moist (hate that word lol) dishcloth to keep the dough from hardening and put it in the fridge too. 
1 Kg of dough makes about 9/10 balls but I normally use 2kgs because these rolls are so good you will want leftover for the next day.  Just double up on mince OR use less mince in each and fill the rest up with cheese or a tsp of apricot jam.
Once you have your balls ready, spray your hands with spray and cook and grab a ball and a spoon. 
Using the back of the spoon, push into the middle of the roll to make a well, push all around the inside edges to get a nice deep well, just don't push right through.
Now fill the hole with a tablespoon on mince, add more if you think it looks a little empty but use the 1st roll as a tester to see how much mince you can get in and still seal the dough nicely.  I normally get around 2 spoons in. 
Once the well is full but NOT overflowing, use your fingers to press the mince down really hard into the dough now grab opposite edges and seal the dough. Think Cornish pasty edge and pinch for all you are worth,  it does not have to pretty just seal the edges well, making sure there is no mince escaping.
Once sealed, flip it around in your hand and pull the opposite 2 edges together and seal as well.  It's a double seal to make sure the roll stay closed and the filling does not leak out.  This is why you need dry mince, wet mince will be oozing out about this time and there would be no way to seal it well.
Shape it into a ball again and drop it onto the tray. If you have used the right sized ball of dough and dry mince it will look just like it did now before you stuffed it.
Keep going until all the rolls are filled.
Once all the rolls are stuff and lined up on a tray, using a basting brush cover them in the remaining tomato puree.  I like being generous with it as it dries up while you cooking and while the flavour is overpowering uncooked once cooked it's much sweeter and milder so go ahead and slap a nice thick layer on.  Open another tin if you have to but cover them all over the top and sides.
Grate whatever cheese you are using, I use cheddar cause I love the taste of the crust melted cheddar makes but Mozzarella works well too if you like stringy cheese more than crusty.
Cover the tops of the rolls in a pile of cheese and spread it down the sides as best you can.
Now put it in the over for 25-30 min and bake till the whole house smells of fresh bread and the family have asked you at least twice "what smells so good" or "is supper ready yet"
Take out and serve warm with a salad or just as is.  It's also delicious cold in lunchboxes the next day and once you have the basics down, you can play around with flavours.  How about a mince and egg roll with a fried egg inside or a bacon and cheese roll or a roast chicken and mushroom roll with some gravy over the top?  So many combos to try and so little time to try them.  :)


WARNING: DO NOT TRY BITING INTO THESE UNTIL THEY HAVE STOOD FOR AT LEAST 10 MIN TO COOL DOWN.  THE INSIDES ARE VERY HOT!!!