Whenever we made the journey to visit my mum’s brother and his wife – Pad and Harriet, who were also my godparents – I would secretly hope that Harriet would whip out a plate of her sausage rolls, which she invariably did. They were always just out of the oven and oh so tasty.
Makes 12
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ onion, finely diced
¼ tsp dried sage
500g pork mince or sausage meat (I like to use a mix of both)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
plain flour, for dusting
1 medium egg, beaten
shop-bought red pepper relish, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until soft, adding the sage just before you take the pan off the heat. Allow to cool.
Put the pork mince and/or sausage meat in a bowl (first removing the skins if using whole sausages) along with the cooled onion. Season with a little salt and pepper and mix well by hand. Unroll the pastry on a lightly floured work surface and cut it lengthways into two long, even rectangles.
Divide the sausage filling in two. Roll half of the filling into a long sausage shape with your hands along the centre of each rectangle.
Brush the pastry on one side of the filling with the beaten egg, then fold the other side of the pastry over the filling, wrapping it inside. Turn so that the seal is on the bottom of the sausage roll. Cut each long roll into six and space them out on the lined baking trays.
Brush the top of each roll with the beaten egg. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until puffed up, golden and cooked through. Serve with red pepper relish on the side.
