Sausage Rolls

Sausage Rolls

25 min bake, 200°C, makes 16

Ingredients

Rough puff pastry
1 batch (~500g)

Filling
pork sausage meat  500g
onion              150g
breadcrumbs        40g
fennel seeds       5g
egg                1
salt               3g
black pepper       2g

Egg wash
egg                1
whole milk         15g

Finely chop the onion and cook it down before adding to the filling. Raw onion makes the filling watery.
Fennel seeds are the single biggest upgrade to a plain sausage roll. Don’t skip them.

Recipe

1. Finely chop the onion and cook in a little oil over low heat for 12-15 minutes until soft and lightly golden. Leave to cool completely.

2. Mix the sausage meat, breadcrumbs, fennel seeds, egg, salt, pepper and cooled onion together. Fry a small piece to taste and adjust seasoning.

3. Heat the oven to 200°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

4. Roll the rough puff pastry to about 4mm thick and cut into two long rectangles.

5. Divide the filling in half. Shape each half into a log and lay it along the lower third of each pastry rectangle.

6. Brush the far edge with egg wash. Roll the pastry tightly over the filling, seam-side down. Press the seam firmly to seal.

7. Cut each log into 8 pieces with a sawing motion. Slash the tops diagonally 2-3 times. Brush all over with egg wash.

8. Bake for 25-35 minutes until deep golden brown.

To take them further:
Black pudding and apple: replace 150g of the sausage meat with crumbled cooked black pudding and add one grated apple (squeezed dry). The best upgrade.
Brie and cranberry: spread cranberry sauce on the pastry before the meat, lay a strip of brie on top before rolling.
Caramelised onion: stir 2 tbsp of onion chutney into the raw meat instead of cooking a fresh onion.
Glaze: brush with egg wash then a thin layer of Dijon before the seeds go on.