Sausage Rolls

This is an old Canadian Living recipe my family has been making for years. And years. And years. I’ve added a few tips I’ve picked up over time to help make your life easier, but having said that, these are incredibly simple to make. Once you try these, you won’t even think about buying them ever again.

Keep a batch or two in the freezer throughout the festive period. You’ll be very pleased with yourself as you produce a plate of these beautiful nibbles at a moment’s notice.

Makes approx. 30 pieces

Ingredients

2 eggs

250g raw sausage meat

1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 cup minced onion

Salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 x sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry

1 tbsp dijon mustard

Method:

Remove puff pastry from the fridge but don’t unroll it yet.

In a large bowl, beat 1 egg until frothy. Add the sausage meat, breadcrumbs, parsley, onion, garlic and salt and pepper. Using clean hands, blend the mixture until combined. Try not to overmix.

Tip: Sausages typically come seasoned, so don’t go overboard on the salt.

Unroll the pastry and cut into thirds, lengthwise. You will end up with three long strips. Brush a line of mustard down the centre of each and divide the sausage meat mixture between the strips of pastry, pinching bits off to get a strip down the centre.

Fold the pastry over and roll up, pressing the seam down gently. Turn the rolls over, seam-side down and stick in the freezer for 10 – 15 minutes to firm up.

Tip: If your pastry starts to get a bit too soft while you’re rolling, don’t panic – just lift the paper underneath to transfer the unrolled strips to a baking tray. Stick in the freezer to firm back up.

Once the rolls are firm, use your sharpest, non-serrated knife to slice into individual sausage rolls. They can be as big or as small as you like, bearing in mind they do puff up in the oven. I get about 10 pieces from each long roll.

Tip: If your knife isn’t sharp enough or the sausage isn’t cutting neatly, freeze the rolls for about an hour. They will be almost frozen and much easier to slice.

To freeze: Place the sausage rolls on baking trays. They can be fairly close together, just not touching. Freeze solid. Then transfer to freezer bags and keep until needed.

To bake: Preheat the oven to 200C / 190C Fan / 400F. Line a baking tray with parchment. You can bake fresh or straight from frozen.

Place the sausage rolls on the parchment-lined baking tray. Beat an egg in a small bowl and brush the top of each roll with the beaten egg. Sprinkle lightly with flaked salt and bake until the rolls are a perfect golden brown (20 – 25 minutes). These taste best when cooled slightly, but good luck getting everyone to wait until then.