Hey Bernice!

When you’re little you dream about being famous for something…. dancing, ballet, horse riding. I never thought I would be famous (well amongst my friends – does that count?) for making sausage rolls.

I don’t know when it all started, but over about 15 years I have developed a little bit of notoriety for my sausage rolls. To be honest I don’t think they are very different to anyone elses – but who am I to argue with the masses.

There is one claim to fame I will happily take – that a friend’s five year old loves them (and my banana bran muffins), and he doesn’t eat much other than Kabana! So that was a big triumph! The great thing about this recipe is you can pack it with carrot (or zuchini… or anything that can be grated), wrap it in pastry, top it with tomato sauce… and the kids will never know!

So here’s the recipe… (with a few variations):

Bernice’s Sausage Rolls

1 packet of puff pastry (usually 6 sheets)
500g pork and veal mince (the supermarket should sell it mixed, or you can mince your own in the food processor for a leaner mince – I do!)
500g sausage mince (you can use the supermarket sausages and squeeze the mince out, or look for mince without the sausage skin, which saves all the hassle)
NOTE: I will often just use 1kg of the pork and veal mince as it is a lot healthier – especially if you mince it yourself!)
3 medium carrots grated
1 medium onion grated (squeeze the juice off) or finely diced
1 teaspoon thyme (dried or fresh)
1 egg
Salt and pepper
Milk to glaze

Spread the pastry sheets out on the bench (leaving the plastic sheet on the underside). Take a knife and run it down the centre of each pastry sheet. Mix all the ingredients (except the pastry, of course!!) together in a bowl. I find it is best to use your hands to mix it – yes it’s a messy job, but will mix together better this way.  With a spoon, place a line of meat mixture down the length of one half of the pastry sheet, closer to one edge. Take the edge that the mince is closest to and roll it over to meet the other side. Run a pastry brush (or your finger!) with milk on it down the length of the pastry where the two sides meet to help it stick together.

Place the sausage roll on the bench, with the join underneath. With a sharp knife cut the length of sausage roll you wish to have. Then prick with a fork. Place on a greased (or lined) baking tray, brush with milk, and cook until golden brown (20-30 minutes depending on your oven).

Best served freshly cooked, however they do freeze really well.

Cheers,

Bernice