These are a great addition to the buffet table. To be honest, I’m not sure which I prefer: the ‘real’ sausage rolls or these cheese and onion ones. Both are superb, and so worth making your own. There’s a world of difference between these and the shop-bought varieties of either.
Ingredients
Filling
1 Onion (approx. 120 g, 5 oz)
2 Tbsp Vegetable oil
25 g / 1 oz Instant potato powder – see note
90 g / 3½ oz Water, boiling
80 g / 3 oz Breadcrumbs
180 g / 6½ oz Extra-mature cheddar cheese, grated
20 g / ¾ oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP cheese, grated – or similar
1 Egg, stirred to mix the white and yolk
1 tsp Granulated or powdered onion
1 tsp Colman’s mustard powder
30 g / 1 oz Plain flour
4 Tbsp Chopped fresh parsley
Pastry
Rough puff pastry made with 250 g of flour.
To Glaze
1 Egg
1 Tbsp Milk
Mix together with a pinch of salt.
Method
Gently fry the onion in the oil until translucent but not browned.
Mix the potato powder with the boiling water.
Allow the onion and potatoes to cool slightly, and then mix them with the other ingredients in the ‘filling’ list above.
For cocktail/buffet sized rolls, roll the pastry out to approx 275mm (11″) by 400mm (16“). Square the front edge. Roll one-third of the filling mix and put it along the front edge. You may need to do this in sections – wet hands help when handling the mix.
Lifting the pastry, roll it to encase the filling. At this stage, dampen the next 15 mm / ½ inch or so of pastry with water (I think that water is better than egg wash for this) and roll the filling/pastry roll onto it. Keep it tight. The roll can be cut away from the sheet at this stage.
You should be able to do this twice more, making 3 long rolls.
Glaze the rolls with egg wash. I use a standard wash. For a darker colour, use just egg yolk. Divide the large rolls into 35-40 mm / 1½ inch pieces, 10 or 11 per roll.
Cook at 190°C / 375°F, / gas mark 5 for 30 minutes. I use a fan oven, so add 10°C / 20°F for an oven without a fan.
For larger rolls, make 2 long rolls using half of the filling in each.
For a vegetarian roll, you will need to replace the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP with a vegetarian alternative such as Gran Moravia.
Instant Potato
The amounts of potato flakes and water shown are for the potato brand I use. Use the amounts pro rata from the manufacturer’s instructions for your brand to make 115 g/ 4oz. Or use 115g / 4 oz of mashed potatoes instead.
Your gram to oz conversions don’t always tally, which should I follow for best results?
Hi Ian
Good question. Use one or the other, but not both! I test and record my recipes in grams and use scales that measure to 1/100 g, but since other people don’t, I try to present them in simple measures.
My sausage/curing recipes are a different matter – I use grams for everything and suggest that others do.
I hope that you enjoy the rolls.
Thank you Phil.
Can’t wait to give these a go, we love your sausage roll recipe.