Is there anything more British in picnic weather than a sausage roll? They’re a must-have for beach days, blanket days and buffets.
There’s pure comfort in that meeting of flaky pastry and tender, salty sausagemeat. Served cold or warm, they’re an utter treat.
Ours are crafted with homemade rough puff pastry – which is actually easier to make than you think – and a filling of the finest British bangers, combined with a smattering of spring onions and Great British Food Award-winning Stilton from Clawson Farms.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 300g plain flour
- Large pinch fine sea salt
- 225g chilled butter, cut into tiny pieces
- 125-150ml ice cold water
- Squeeze lemon juice
To fill:
- 8 best-quality pork sausages, removed from their skins
- 1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced
- 150g Stilton, crumbled
To finish:
- 2 beaten eggs
Method
1. For the pastry start with everything cold – you might even want to chill the flour and bowl first for a spell. Add the salt to the flour. Now add the butter and roughly toss into the mixture until every piece is coated. Add a spritz of lemon and enough water to bring the dough together. Press it into a stubby rectangle shape, wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
2. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle, then fold the short sides inwards on top of one another. Wrap and chill again for 20 minutes. Repeat the process twice, then chill the dough for a further 30 minutes.
3. Take the sausages out of their cases and combine with the spring onions in a bowl. Crumble in the Stilton.
4. Set the oven to 200C and line two baking sheets.
5. When you’re ready to rock and roll, cut your pastry in two. Roll it to rectangles around 1/2cm thick and evenly spread your sausage mix down the middle of each piece, ensuring it’s the same thickness all along and pressing the sausage mix well so there aren’t any gaps.
6. Brush the area beside the meat on one side with beaten egg, and fold the pastry over the top, pressing it down well. Cut the pastry away, leaving 1cm of edge, and press down along the edge with a fork firmly. Brush the rolls with egg.
7. Cut the sausage rolls to the size you’d like, and bake until golden and risen – about 25 to 30 minutes.
