This week, Roy had a craving which simply had to be met. Roy adores his Grandma's Sausage Rolls, and felt that they were going to be a perfect dinner. Her sausage rolls were an invention many years ago, when one of her children wouldn't eat vegetables. She became very crafty at hiding them, and managed to pack a whopping 5 different vegetables into her sausage rolls - all of them masquerading as 'herbs'. They were a complete success and children love them! When Roy asked if she would make them for him, she told him she would teach him and allow him to put it up online. So this week, Roy Creates Grandma's Hide And Seek Sausage Rolls.
You Will Need:
- 500grams of good quality beef mince
- 500 grams of sausage mince
- 1 stick of celery
- 1 large carrot
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 zucchini
- 1 onion
- 1 heaped teaspoon of mixed dried herbs
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 egg
- Grated cheese (about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup per pastry sheet)
- A packet of puff pastry, thawed. Roy had 5 sheets in his packet, so he used 5 pastry sheets, but the mix can easily be spread on another sheet, or you could make really fat rolls and only make 4. It's up to you!
Note: The amounts don't need to be particularly accurate and you can change the ingredients to suit your tastes if you like!
Method:
- Peel the carrot and onion, take the seeds out of the capsicum and trim the celery and zucchini. Cut all the vegetables into chunks and put them into a food processor. Process until all the vegetables are finely chopped.
- Pour the vegetables into a large bowl, add the mince, egg, tomato paste, herbs, salt and pepper and combine. It is easiest to mix meat using your hands!
- Take a sheet of pastry and press a thin layer of meat over it. Leave a seam about 3 centimetres wide on one side (to close the sausage roll when you roll it up)
- Sprinkle cheese over the top of the meat. Don't use too much because it will melt and spread.
- Starting on the opposite side to the one where you left the seam, roll the pastry up. This is easiest to do if you leave the plastic on the other side of the pastry and peel it back as you roll.
- Put the roll seam side down and press lightly to seal. If you like, you can now put them in the fridge to sit while you do something else. Just roll the pastry in its plastic and cover the big rolls with clingwrap.
- When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180 to 200 degrees celcius and line baking trays with baking paper. Roy used 2 baking trays, but you might want 3, depending how many sausage rolls you are making. Unwrap the rolls and cut them into sections. You can make 2 big rolls from each sheet of pastry by cutting the rolls in half, or you can cut them into smaller sections. Put the sausage rolls, seam side down, onto the baking trays.
- Bake for about 30 minutes (until the pastry is golden and the mince is well cooked). Some of the cheese will ooze out the ends, but don't worry, there is plenty still inside and the oozy cheese on the trays is the cooks treat!
- Let them cool for a few minutes before you eat them - they are really hot!
