I can’t even begin to describe how much I love trivia nights. I’m not particularly knowledgeable, but I just like the atmosphere and it’s usually even more fun if you DON’T know the answers. I went to a fantastic quiz night last night, where my table definitely did not know the answers and came second last, but that’s fine, because our table had an enviable spread of food and drinks.
I made my family’s secret recipe meat sausage rolls , but as we had a few vegetarians in the party I thought I would give vego sausage rolls a go. I really didn’t want to make “vegetable” rolls, as in, the type you see with mashed potato and vegetables. Equally, I really didn’t want to have to work with tofu or tempeh or anything else I was completely unfamiliar with and don’t eat myself. I ended up finding what seemed like a pretty popular recipe online, and as there were a couple of different versions of it, I used elements of both just to hedge my bets.
I can honestly say that these were amazing. They smelt like a real meat sausage roll when cooking, and you could barely tell the difference between the vego and meat sausage rolls at the table. Like me, you will probably think it is the weirdest combination of ingredients, but it absolutely works!
Makes 144 cocktail sausage rolls
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup pecans, chopped finely (I do this in a small food processor first)
- 1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dry vegetable stock powder
- 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 10 oz cottage cheese
- 1 cup oats
- ½ cup dried breadcrumbs
- 6 sheets puff pastry
- 2 extra eggs, for egg wash
Note: You will also need a piping bag with a round 2cm wide nozzle. I found the disposable piping bags from the supermarket plus the coupler itself (what the nozzle normally screws onto) ideal.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 390ºF. Process cottage cheese, pecans, eggs, onion, herbs, stock powder, garlic and soy sauce in a food processor until mixture is well combined. Add breadcrumbs and oats. Pulse until just combined, or the oats are broken down a bit (about 30 seconds).
Allow your puff pastry to defrost just enough so that it is pliable but not warm. Cut it into 3 equal strips. Fill your piping bag with the mixture and pipe a line of filling lengthways down the strip, against one edge (NOT in the middle!) Do not make your filling strip wider than 1/3 of the pastry strip, as it won’t roll.
Brush egg wash lengthways down the other side of the pastry strip. Gently begin to roll the pastry lengthways so it rolls over onto itself until it is sealed on the egg wash side. Cut the sausage roll into 8 mini cocktail sausage rolls using a sharp knife. To get them even, cut the big roll in half first, then the two smaller rolls in half, then the 4 even smaller rolls in half again.
Tip: If you wanted to make these as a dinner sized portion, cut the pastry into only two strips, then pipe mixture 1/3 of the width of the strip and follow the same method. Cut the finished roll into only two or three sections, and you have dinner sized sausage rolls!
Place the mini rolls onto a baking tray and brush lightly with egg wash. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. You will have multiple trays, so it’s a good idea to rotate them on the shelves throughout the baking (just once will do).
These can be frozen once cooked, and reheated in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven from frozen for 10-12 minutes or until hot. If you intend to freeze them, it is a good idea to bake them just a little less the first time around (10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden) so you don’t dry them out when you reheat them.
