Pork, Apple & Sage Sausage Rolls

A sausage roll was a new thing to me when I arrived in Australia. Sausage meat inside puff pastry? It seemed too rich to be good. How wrong I was. Sausage rolls are incredibly delicious. No wonder they’re served at children’s and adult’s parties alike – everyone loves them!

These are so good I can barely let them cool from the oven before biting in. Grated apple adds some welcome sweetness to the savoury filling, and using high-quality minced meat rather than a fatty sausage ensures the rolls don’t feel greasy. To make them extra special, use a good store-bought puff pastry as well.

Serve with the requisite tomato ketchup, so you don’t burn the roof of your mouth, or a good tomato chutney if you’re feeling fancy.

View the recipe collection here

Instructions

1.	To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the bacon over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, to render out the fat.
2.	Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, apple and carrot.
3.	Season with salt and black pepper and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the other veggies are softened but not coloured.
4.	Stir in the sage and fennel seeds and cook for a further 30 seconds or so, just to infuse their flavour.
5.	Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
6.	Once cooled, add the remaining filling ingredients and mix well using clean hands to combine.
7.	Add a bit more salt and black pepper.
8.	Fry a small patty to taste for seasoning, then adjust as needed.
9.	Transfer the filling to a piping bag and refrigerate until ready to use; the filling can sit overnight if preparing ahead.
10.	Cut six puff pastry rectangles about 10cm wide and 20cm long.
11.	Pipe one-sixth of the filling, in a nice thick log about 4cm wide, down the centre of a pastry rectangle.
12.	Brush down the length of one long pastry edge with the whisked egg, then fold the pastry over the filling, press the edges together and crimp with a fork to seal tightly.
13.	Brush the whole roll with more egg.
14.	Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling, to make six long sausage rolls.
15.	Now cut each roll in half, to give you 12 sausage rolls about 10cm long.
16.	Cut a few pastry slits in the top of each roll to allow steam to escape.
17.	Place the rolls on a large flat baking tray lined with baking paper.
18.	Ensure you give them a bit of space to expand and not stick to each other; use a second lined baking tray if needed.
19.	The rolls can now be frozen for several weeks and baked from frozen, or refrigerated for up to 24 hours if you are preparing ahead.
20.	To cook the sausage rolls, preheat the oven to 180°C conventional (160°C fan-forced).
21.	Bake for about 40 minutes (or 45 minutes if frozen), until the pastry is deeply, deliciously golden, and the filling is cooked through.
22.	Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack straight away, so they stay crisp and don’t steam on the tray.
23.	Serve hot, with ketchup, relish, mustard... or nothing at all!