Have you ever read the Charlie and Lola books by Lauren Child, or seen the BBC series? It's one of Bromley's all time favorites. I think that because he heard the theme song often while I was pregnant, he was born to love it! Charlie and his silly little sister Lola have some wonderful adventures. After watching the episode, "The Most Wonderfullest Picnic in the Whole Wide World," I really wanted to make some sausage rolls, a favorite of Lola's best friend Lotta. So I gave it a go and they turned out wonderfully.
Sausage Rolls
12 oz sausage meat
1 tsp corse salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp onion flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 Tbs bread crumbs
1 pkg puff pastry, thawed
Preheat oven to 400, or package directions. Roll out puff pastry and cut into squares, Combine sausage, seasonings and 1 egg. (I start with a spoon but give up and use my hands) Add bread crumbs if mixture seems too wet. Spoon approximately 2 Tbs of mixture onto one end of a puff pastry square and continue doing so until all the meat mixture is used up. Crack the remaining egg in a small bowl and beat it to make an egg wash. Brush the unoccupied end of the pastry square with the egg wash, then roll up the log and place it seam side down on a baking sheet. Once the sheet is full, brush the tops of all the rolls with egg and sprinkle with a little more corse salt (more grated parmesan too if you like). Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly on a wire rack before enjoying. Makes approximately 24 sausage rolls.
Now I know these are not authentic at all, but they are amazing! If you run out of meat before pastry like I do, you can use the leftover dough to make chocolate/Nutella croissants. Just put a dollop of Nutella instead of sausage, or you could do softened cream cheese and chocolate chips. If you run out of pastry before meat, turn the extra meat into meatballs and just fry them up in a little olive oil. Delicious! If you skip the egg wash, the tops wont be as golden and the seam probably won't stick, causing the pastry to unroll while cooking. I would have preferred mine to be a bit more brown, but I just couldn't wait any longer. My husband eats his rolls with HP Sauce--the authentic British way he says. (http://www.heinz.co.uk/Products/HP-Sauce) You can mix up the seasonings; thyme, sage or feta cheese would all be good twists. And lastly, leftovers do well in the freezer--if you have any.
