Sausage Rolls with Hidden Veggies

Sausage Rolls with Hidden Veggies

As a child I always hated sausage rolls.  The filling was always an insipid light pink colour, even when cooked.  Recently however I had a sausage roll from a local independent baker.  It was jam packed full of vegetables through the sausage meat – so much lighter and tastier than the cardiac inducing sausage rolls from childhood.

Ingredients

• Sausage meat (Approx 350g) *
• Celery – two sticks
• 1 Carrot
• 1/2 a red onion
• Seasoning
• Teaspoon of mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour
• 1 packet of puff pastry (approx 320g)
• Egg or milk to brush

The first time we made these, we used minced pork sausage meat, and seasoned ourselves.  Subsequently we have cheated and used good quality chipolata sausages, removed from their skins.  The flavour will depend upon the flavourings of the sausages you use.

Method:

If using unseasoned sausage meat, place in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper.  If using sausages, removed the meat from their skins, and add to a bowl.  Grate in the celery and carrot.  Into a separate bowl, grate the onion.  The onion will release a lot of water – remove as much as possible, and put the notion pulp in with the meat. Add small amount of flour to bind the mixture, and mix thoroughly.

Roll out the puff pastry to approx 2-3mm thick, in an oblong. If you can buy ready rolled so much the better.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and allow to come to room temperate around 10 minuted before you need to use it.  It will be far more pliable, and less likely to crack.  Roll out your sheet to approximately 350mm x 240mm, and cut into two long strips. (i.e. 2 x 120mm wide)

For each pastry sheet, place the sausage mixture along one of the edges, around 8mm from the edge.  Try to keep an even spread along the length.  Once the sausage met is evenly distributed, fold over the pastry, and crimp the edges with a fork.  Cut into individual sausage rolls whatever size you prefer.  I like to get 8 – 9 out of each strip.  You can go larger, but my family like the crunch edge on the end of the sausage roll, so this increases the volume of meat getting this treatment.

Brush with a beaten egg or milk and bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes at 180 degrees.  Make sure the sausage meat is cooked through fully.

These are delicious served straight out the oven, but equally tasty at room temperature. The perfect picnic treat.