THE sausage rolls

I have been making these sausage rolls for years and they are without doubt the most requested thing I make.  Family and friends all request them for parties and gatherings as they appeal to adults and kids alike.  For a long time I was reluctant to give out the recipe, but have since decided that all good things deserve to be shared.  I hope you like them as much as I do.

Ingredients

For the filling

1kg sausage mince (the kind you get from the supermarket in the meat dept)

1 large carrot, grated

1 large zucchini, grated

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

good splodge of worcestershire sauce

2 tsp celery salt

ground black pepper

1 x 6 sheet packet of ready rolled puff pastry

2 eggs (one for filling, one for eggwash on pastry)

sesame seeds

Method

Preheat your oven to 220 degrees celsius.

Take the puff pastry sheets from the freezer and lay separate on the bench.  The time it takes you to get the filling together is all that they will need to defrost.  Puff pastry doesnt puff as well if it isnt well chilled.  So don’t do this part too early.  I have tried these with the reduced fat puff pastry sheets, and I just don’t think that they turn out the same, so go with the standard sheets.  Its party food after all so you should be allowed a little splurge.  

In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients for the filling.  The only way to get this done properly is with your hands.  Nothing else really works.  So, use gloves if you must, but I don’t bother.  You can stretch the filling by adding more breadcrumbs, but I find that this makes them too heavy for my liking.  Once the filling is well combined, mix in 1 lightly beaten egg.

Take a sheet of puff pastry (leaving it on the plastic separator sheet – this comes in handy later) and cut in half.  Repeat for all the sheets.  I normally end up with half of one sheet left after making them.  Using a large spoon and guiding it with your fingers place a line of filling about 1/3 in from the edge, then roll the pastry over the joining the two edges.  The join should be about 1 cm in width.  Using the prongs of a fork press along the join to crimp the pastry and ensure a firm closure.  Cut each long sausage roll into 6 pieces and prick the top of each piece with the fork twice (this is mostly for effect but also adds a bit of air to the pastry.  Repeat with the remaining pastry sheets and filling.

When you have the sausage rolls all ready line, them up on an oven tray lined with baking paper and brush each with the second egg (lightly beaten to make an eggwash).  You can sprinkle them with sesame seeds, or poppy seeds or leave them plain.

Pop them in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pastry has risen and is golden.  The first time you make them you need to watch your oven to see how long they take to cook.  Every oven I have used over the years has produced a slightly different cooking time and result.

Allow to cool for a short time on a wire rack (don’t want your guests to burn their mouths!) then serve with a homemade tomato relish or good old Whitecrow.

A couple of plan ahead tips:

The assembled rolls can be frozen before being sliced into pieces.  It is best to allow them to defrost in the fridge before you want to cook them.

The rolls can also be cooked for 10 minutes then frozen, or stored in an airtight container for a few days.  They will then need to be cooked for a further 5-10 minutes to finish puffing the pastry.