best ever veggie sausage rolls

Yes the filling is important but at the end of the day, the best thing about a sausage roll is the pastry.  So that’s where we’re starting with these.  I’m making a classic flaky pastry but don’t be too panicked, it’s really not that hard, you just need some patience and a little bit of time.  I like to get up early on a Sunday and make it in a quiet kitchen before anyone else awakes. The recipe below is enough for about 20 small sausage rolls which quite frankly is not enough, so I tend to double the recipe.  It freezes really well so if you don’t use it all it’s not a major issue.

In terms of the filling, I have a little secret. It’s called stuffing mix. I use Paxo but go for whatever your favourite is.  There’s just something so specifically Christmassy about including stuffing in a sausage roll that takes it to another level. The stuffing mix is just the base, I then add all kinds of divine

for the pastry

• 60g butter – grated and then frozen
• 200g butter – grated and then frozen (I always use lightly salted butter)
• 350g cold plain flour (pop it in the freezer the night before you want to make this)
• roughly 150ml ice cold water mixed with a teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

for the filling

• 250g stuffing mix
• 1 large onion – finely chopped
• 200g chestnut mushrooms
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 level tablespoon fresh chopped herbs (I used rosemary and thyme)
• 6 veggie sausages – mashed up
• 100g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• salt and freshly milled black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Let’s make the pastry first…Place the flour into a large bowl and using your fingertips, quickly rub in the 60g of butter, then add the water / lemon juice mix a tablespoon at a time.  You can stir this with a wooden spoon but I like to use my hand shaped like a claw as I can feel the flour and water begin to form the dough so I know how much liquid to add.  You want to add enough liquid to form a firm dough that isn’t too tacky.

Knead the dough fora couple of minutes then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for about 10 mins.

Flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a long rectangle with the short side nearest you, then sprinkle the bottom 2/3rds of the rectangle with half the grated frozen butter. (Push it down into the dough slightly.)  Fold over the top un-buttered third towards you and then fold the bottom third back over the top so that you have created 6 layers of dough/butter/dough/butter/dough/butter.

Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again into a rectangle and repeat the above with the remaining butter.  Roll it our again after this and fold, then wrap and refrigerate for a good hour.

Repeat the roll and fold process again three more times but don’t worry about refrigerating the dough between each fold.  if you work fast you really won’t need to.

After the 5th roll and fold, wrap it and pop it into the fridge for at least an hour before using. (You can freeze at this stage.)

Next, rehydrate your stuffing mix according to the packet instructions.  Do this in a large bowl and add a little olive oil.

Sauté off the onions then add the mushrooms and cook until soft, then add the mashed up veggie sausages, herbs and seasoning and cook off until the veggie sausages are just beginning to soften and colour.

Mix the stuffing mix, mushroom mix and some grated cheese together and set aside to cool whist you roll out your pastry.  I like to create two strips of pastry roughly 30cm long x 8 cm deep and generously lay a sausage shape of mix down the middle

wet the edges of the pastry with a little water before rolling them up, then cut them into bite-sized slices and place them on a baking tray

bake them for 30 mins on 160c and then leave them in the oven to cool down for 10 mins before serving

eat and of course, enjoy!