Sausage Rolls with Hidden Vegies

Who doesn't love a nice sausage roll? I confess I have blatantly stolen this idea from the MasterChef Master Class, but I have changed it slightly so feel I can call the recipe my own now! There are so many great things about this recipe - the first is that kids love it and you can easily hide some vegies within the recipe. The second great thing is that these sausage rolls freeze and reheat beautifully. To achieve this, you should partially cook them for 10-15 mins, then cool completely before freezing. A reheat (after defrosting) will then take about 10 mins just to warm them through. And finally, why not make these with the kids - they are fun and easy to make and something the whole family can get involved in!

So, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Sausage Rolls with Hidden Vegies



1 tbs unsalted butter
2 large carrots, peeled, grated4 handfuls baby spinach1 tbs olive oil
2 small brown onion, finely chopped
4 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, crushed
800g beef mince
500g pork mince
1 tbs wild oregano
1 tbs Herbs De Provence
4 cups fresh breadcrumbs
2 x 375g packets frozen puff pastry (Careme brand recommended if you can get it), thawed, halved
3 egg yolks, lightly whisked
Poppy and sesame seeds, to garnish
tomato or BBQ sauce, to serve

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180°C.

Step 2: Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add grated carrot and cook for until carrot starts to soften. Cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes until very soft. Add spinach and allow to wilt for a minute or so. Puree vegie mixture in a blender until smooth. Season to taste. Set aside to cool completely.

Step 3: Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat, then add onion, thyme, bay leaf, garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for 4-6 minutes or until onion has softened. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf and set aside to cool completely.

Step 4: Combine minces, vegetables, dried herbs, onion mixture and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Season with salt. Divide the mince mixture into 4 portions and shape into a 25cm log. Place pastry sheet onto a floured work surface and roll to about 4mm thick. Slice each pastry sheet in half lengthways. Place the sausage log across the closest edge of a pastry sheet. Roll to enclose mixture until the two edges of the pastry meet, trim and discard excess pastry. Brush a little egg wash on the join to secure.

Step 5: Place sausage rolls on a lined baking rack, brush with egg wash and sprinkle evenly with seeds. Repeat with remaining pastry. At this point, you can choose to cut the logs into smaller sausage rolls before cooking or to cook the whole log and slice afterwards. Masterchef recommended leaving whole and slicing on an angle after cooking. I personally chose to cut them before cooking as it makes it easier for freezing and also at serving time!

Step 6: Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through (reduce cooking time to 10-15 mins if you are planning to freeze and/or reheat). Slice these on an angle and serve if you haven't cut them prior to cooking.