Who doesn’t love Vegetarian Sausage Rolls?

Vegetarian Sausage Rolls are an absolute favorite in our house, there is something comforting about them.

I’ll never forget the smell of walking into work in the mornings and the baker having been working his magic since the small hours making delectable breakfast pastries and fresh bread.  Ahhhhhh.  Can you smell it too? And since those days the smell of fresh pastry – crisp, flaky and straight out of the oven has always made me a little weak at the knees!

Pre-vegetarian days I was never much of a fan of sausage rolls anyway.  Him however would eat them by the packet – even eating them on the way round the supermarket and presenting the bemused checkout person with the empty packet to be paid for!  I never enjoyed the texture and the strange, hard, random ‘gristly’ bits.  And they were always disappointingly bland.

Whats so special about them?

These Vegetarian Sausage Rolls are so simple to make, perfect for prepping ahead and guaranteed to be swiftly demolished from the buffet table!

However these buttery, cheesy, mustardy rolls of deliciousness are almost unbelievably tasty.  Now, if you’re that way inclined you can make your own puff pastry – but honestly, the pre-made stuff is pretty damn good and sooo convenient!

Tips for the perfect Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Don’t be tempted to omit the creme fraiche though – it gives the filling just enough moistness to hold it all together as you’re shaping it to put onto the pastry.  Without it (trust me, I tried!) it’s very dry and crumbly and far too faffing hard to get it to hold its shape!

One other thing, before you cut the pastry lift it off the paper sheet it usually comes wrapped in and dust with a little flour then lay the pastry back down – this makes it easier to lift the pastry over the filling when you’re making the rolls 🙂

Try to leave them to cool for a few minutes.  The smell and that crispy looking pastry will make you want to scoff them straight out of the oven but I burnt my mouth doing that.  Totally didn’t stop me scoffing the second one though 😉

Serve them cool with a Spring Greens Salad for a delicious lunch

How to make the perfect Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

First of all saute the onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil till softened and starting to turn translucent. Set aside to cool slightly

In the meantime, cut the slices of bread into cubes and blitz in a food processor till they become breadcrumbs. Tip into a bowl

Fit the grater attachment to the processor and grate the cheese. Tip into the bowl with the breadcrumbs then add the mustard, paprika, crème fraiche, wheatgrass, hemp protein powder, flax seed, seasoning and cooled onion/garlic mixture.  Stir well till completely mixed together

Unroll the puff pastry, lift off the paper sheet and sprinkle the paper with flour then put the pastry back on (this stops the pastry sticking as you’re filling and rolling!)

With the longest edge in front of you, cut the sheet vertically into 3 equal pieces. Brush the right side of each of the edges with a little beaten egg

Roughly divide the filling in the bowl into 3 equal sizes then using your hands, shape (as best you can) into long sausages and lay onto the puff pastry – you may need to form the sausages in a few bits, pushing them together on the pastry

Fold the pastry over the filling onto the egg washed strip, tucking it in tightly so there’s no ‘air’ round the sausage, then lay all the long sausages onto a tray and chill for 10-15 mins as this helps when cutting them up

Preheat the oven to 200 Fan / 220 C / 425 F / Gas 7

Cut your long sausages into quarters (or more if you want bite sized pieces) and lay onto a lined baking tray, spacing reasonably apart.

Brush each roll with the beaten egg (pro tip, return to the fridge for 5 minutes then apply more egg wash – this gives a super shiny glaze!)

Here you can cut slashes across the top for decoration or just leave them plain

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and crispy

Try to leave them to cool for a few minutes.  The smell and that crispy looking pastry will make you want to scoff them straight out of the oven but I burnt my mouth doing that.  Totally didn’t stop me scoffing the second one though 😉

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