Pork, sage and onion sausage rolls
There aren’t many of us who don’t enjoy scoffing a sausage roll every now and then – they’re always the first thing to get snaffled up at a morning tea. But the ingredients list on the frozen ones at the supermarket can be scary. Not ideal for a meal – which is why I created this recipe. Simple to make at home and you know exactly what’s going in them – just add veges or a side salad and you’ve got a meal. They are so super tasty no one will notice the spinach I’ve snuck in, either. Just make you don’t forget to season the mince with salt and pepper – you need it for flavour. If you want to make smaller sausage rolls, just cook them for 10 minutes less.
I really do suggest rolling out the pastry from the block rather than using pre-rolled sheets too, if you can – the result is puffier and much more delicious.
NOTE: For a meatier flavour, you can do half pork and half beef. Or you can use chicken mince. Serves 5.
Ingredients
1 x 400g block puff pastry
500g pork mince
5 rashers streaky bacon (or 3-4 rashers shoulder bacon), chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped or grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups finely chopped spinach
2 tsp tomato paste
1 egg, lightly beaten
15-20 fresh sage leaves, chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
½ cup couscous soaked in ½ cup boiled water
Zest of 1 lemon
Method
Defrost the pastry (either in the fridge or place the whole packet in a bowl of warm water).
Preheat oven to 175˚C fan bake, and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Heat a big splash of olive oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add bacon and fry until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Reduce the heat to medium, drain the excess fat from the pan, add another splash of olive oil, add the onion and garlic and cook for around 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the spinach and cook for another few minutes until the spinach is wilted and most of the moisture has evaporated from it.
Place the pork mince in a large bowl with the onion mixture, bacon, tomato paste, egg, couscous, sage, marjoram and lemon zest. Add ½ a teaspoon salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper (if you have it, or use a good hit of cracked pepper). Mix and scrunch it all with cleans hands to combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Roll out the pastry on a clean floured benchtop until it’s about 3-4mm thick (you’ll need to sprinkle the top with flour too as you’re rolling). Cut into two even long rectangles and arrange the mince filling in neat logs down the middle of each rectangle, lengthways.
Fold up both sides of the pastry snugly to meet on top, and brush egg wash on both parts where the pastry joins up, and press to seal. Trim excess pastry leaving about 1-2cm overlap. Cut the rolls into thirds or quarters with a sharp knife and place seam-side down on the lined baking tray, a few centimetres apart.
Brush the rolls all over with the egg wash and prick the tops a few times with a fork to let the steam escape during cooking. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds or fennel seeds.
Bake in the lower half of the oven for around 45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed up. Serve with a fresh salad and a dollop of tomato relish or peach chutney.
