Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Sausage rolling.

Sausage Rolls are a proper Aussie staple food. Along with meat pies, they are available just about everywhere, from bakeries to servos (that’s gas stations to North Americans) to fancy-pants cocktail parties. The filling can be as basic as a sausage, or gourmet.

I went vego before I moved to Australia, so I have never eaten a meat-based sausage roll. But I am positive that I’m not missing anything with the yummy vegan versions we create (and they get Andy’s stamp of approval, so they must be at least all right).

We’ve made red lentil sausage rolls before, and they were very tasty but Andy said the texture wasn’t quite right. So this time we made the filling from TVP. Rehydrated in hot water mixed with vegemite, a dash of soy sauce, and some dried mixed herbs, the TVP was then mixed with some sautéed onions, grated carrot, bulgur and tomato paste.

Then it was time for rolling. Making sausage rolls is actually pretty easy. Cut a few sheets of puff pastry in half. On each half, put some of the filling in a line down one side, making sure to leave a centimetre or so along the edge. Press the filling with your hands into a firm mound. Then, fold up the small edge and then the large edge. Press the seam together well, and cut each pastry roll to the desired size. Here are some sausage rolls in various phases of rolling.

Bake the sausage rolls in a 180 (350F) oven for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and beginning to brown.

Serve with loads of tomato sauce.

While the oven is on, why not bake some biscuits? These are chocolate, coconut and peanut biscuits. The recipe is based on the ‘Chocolate Coconut Biscuits’ from Wild Morsels but I cut down on the sugar and oil involved. Also, the dough was a little blah, so I added peanuts which brought them to a whole new level. I fridged the dough overnight, as per the suggestions in this article. The dough was really great to eat raw, and the baked cookies were delicious too. Chocolate!

7 comments:

Bianca said...

Those sausage rolls sound so delicious. I'm a fan of anything stuffed in puff pastry! And chocolate, coconut, and PB?! That sounds like heaven!!

cristy said...

I read this yesterday and ended up making my own that night. Thanks for the inspiration!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

you guys are so smart - vegan sausage rolls, of COURSE!! I remember eating those frozen kinds like crazy when I was younger, even though I knew they were terrible for me they were sooooo good. I wish the phyllo pastry I had in the freezer was puff pastry so I could make some of these, oh.. right now.

x said...

Homemade vege sausage rolls, yum! They look fantastic and it's so good to know what's in them :)

Amy said...

Mmmm love the sausage rolls! Yum!! Plus....chocolate bikkies with peanuts?!?!? Double Yum!!

DJ said...

Vegan sausage rolls are a staple part of Meg's packed lunches for school and with readymade puff pastry and the auspicious availability of Sosmix dried sausage mix at most health food stores - just add water - they're an absolute cinch to knock together. Especially good warm out of the oven, or with a bit of grated cheezly sprinkled over then filling before baking, yum!! Chocolate cookies look super-duper too!

Serena Lewis said...

before i went vegetarian, sausage rolls were my favourite takeaway food. in recent months, i discovered Frys Vegetarian sausage rolls which i love. i think they are also suitable for vegans. i haven't really thought about making my own until i read this post....your sausage rolls look yummy!