Homemade Sausage Rolls

This is not so much a recipe but more a few hints and tricks I’ve learn’t over the years to make really tasty and easy sausage rolls at home. If you want to try and hide some veg in them you can add a grated carrot and or a zucchini, but be sure to squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the zucchini to prevent the pastry getting soggy. I don’t, I figure that you are making sausage rolls, your aren’t tricking anyone into thinking they are a health food!

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, finely diced (1/2 large)
• Olive oil
• 500gm sausage mince
• Puff pastry sheets (about 3)
• 1 egg
• Fresh bread crumbs (about 2 – 3 slices bread)
• Tomato sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Dried mixed herbs
• Salt and pepper
• Milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Gently fry the onions in a little olive oil with a pinch of salt until softened. Remove to a bowl to cool.

Crack the egg into a small dish and whisk up with a fork until the white and yolk are combined.

Into the bowl with the onions add the sausage mince, bread crumbs, a big pinch of mixed herbs, a good squirt of tomato and Worcestershire sauce, most of the beaten egg (leave some to be mixed with a bit of milk to make the egg wash) salt and pepper. Mix well.

In the pan you cooked the onions fry up a little patty of the sausage mixture to test for seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, herbs or sauces to mixture to taste.

Lay one sheet of puff pastry on a board and slice in half. Using a bread and butter knife make a line of sausage mix along the length, making sure to go right to the edges as the mix will shrink on baking.

Roll the pastry over to cover the filling. You don’t need to use any milk or egg wash here, the pastry will stick to itself to create a seal. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper and transfer the first sausage roll to one. Repeat with the remaining pastry and sausage mix.

Using a sharp knife cut each sausage roll in half and each half into thirds. You can make the sausage rolls any size you like but this is the size we like best. You don’t need to cut all the way through the sausage roll, just through the top and the filling. Add a splash of milk to the remaining egg and using a pastry brush coat the sausage rolls well with the egg wash.

Bake the sausage rolls for 25 – 30 minutes or until cooked and golden brown. Depending on your oven you may need to swap the trays over, turn them around or both so they cook evenly (check around the 20 minute mark).

Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly before cutting up and serving with plenty of tomato sauce. Enjoy. Sheryl x