Handmade festive treats – Sausage Rolls

What could be better than a warm home baked sausage roll?

At this time of year in our Cookery School our Chef Iain would be baking lots of festive handmade treats. One of our favourite things to make at home over the Christmas period is sausage rolls, apart from being delicious, they are so simple and fun to make.

Sausage rolls and chutney make a great party food whether you serve them hot or cold, or as a delicious light supper in itself! So, roll out the rolls this Christmas!

What You’ll Need…

• 1 Ready Rolled Puff Pastry Sheet
• 500g Pork Sausage meat
• Flavourings of your choosing (mustard, chestnuts, dried fruit, caramelised onions, herbs, chilli etc)
• 1 Egg (for glazing)

What You Do…

Preheat your oven to 200°c and place the sausage meat into a large bowl

Flavour the meat with your chosen ingredients

Then, make a small patty of the mixture.  Fry it off and then taste to ensure that it is correctly seasoned and tastes as you want it to taste

Next, slice your puff pastry sheet down the middle and divide your mixture into two

Form the meat into even ‘sausage’ shapes.  These should be placed along the bottom edge of your pastry allowing for 1 inch of clear pastry at either end for sealing

Brush the pastry all over with egg wash before rolling the pastry over the meat

When the meat is fully encased, trim away the excess pastry and ensure that the ‘seam’ that has just been created is on the bottom

Seal the ends off by pressing the pastry together then crimp with a fork

Trim any excess and transfer to a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper

Gently score the surface of the pastry, being sure not to slice all the way through to the meat

Bake until the pastry is perfectly golden and puffed before transferring to a cooling wire

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving – yum!