Hairy Bikers Sausage Rolls Recipe

This Hairy Bikers sausage rolls recipe spreads vindaloo paste under 500g of sausage meat, and it makes 24 at 125 calories each. Since Si and Dave put it in Brilliant Bakes, it has run on their own site too, and it needs 55 minutes.

Si and Dave call these “the sausage roll but not as you know it” in Brilliant Bakes. So the spice does not sit in the meat, because the paste goes on the pastry as a separate layer.

The paste has to cook down until it thickens and starts to separate, which is the point most people stop too early. And a wet paste soaks straight through raw puff, so the bases go grey and soft instead of crisp.

Hairy Bikers Sausage Rolls Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Indian Courses:Starter

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 25 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time: 55 minutesServings:24 servingsCalories:125 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

A thick curry paste goes down the middle of ready-rolled puff, then a log of sausage meat sits along one edge. Roll, seal, cut into 12 and scatter nigella seeds before baking. Cool the paste first, because it must be cold when the pastry meets it.

Ingredients

For the sausage rolls

• 500g sausage meat
• a few coriander sprigs, finely chopped
• 1 x 320g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
• pinch of turmeric
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp nigella seeds

For the vindaloo paste

• 1 onion (see method)
• 15g root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 3 to 4 red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp medium chilli powder
• ½ tsp ground fenugreek
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp malt vinegar
• 2 tsp jaggery or light brown soft sugar
• salt

Instructions

1. Make the paste base: cut the onion in half, then blitz one half with the ginger, garlic and chillies into a smooth paste.
2. Fry the spices: finely chop the other onion half and fry it in the olive oil until translucent. Then add the cumin, turmeric, coriander, chilli powder, fenugreek and cinnamon and stir for two minutes.
3. Cook it down: stir in the onion paste and tomato purée, then cook until it thickens and starts to separate. Add the malt vinegar and jaggery, season well with salt, then take it off the heat to cool.
4. Prep the meat: break up 500g sausage meat and mix the chopped coriander through it. Or squeeze the meat from good pork sausages if your shop has no sausage meat, since that is the same thing in a skin. Then heat the oven to 180C, fan 160C, gas 4.
5. Spread the paste: unroll the 320g puff pastry and cut it in half lengthways. Then spread the cooled paste thickly down the centre of each strip, leaving a centimetre clear along both long sides. But take it right to the short ends, so every piece gets paste when you cut them.
6. Lay the logs: divide the sausage meat in two and shape each piece into a log the same length as the pastry. Then set each log along one long edge, so the pastry can roll over it.
7. Roll and cut: whisk a pinch of turmeric into the beaten egg, then brush the exposed pastry edge and roll it up, sealing firmly. Cut each roll into 12 pieces, which gives you 24. So they come out bite-sized rather than bakery size, and you can cut into 6 instead if you want them bigger.
8. Bake them: arrange the pieces over two baking sheets, then brush with the rest of the egg and scatter the nigella seeds. Bake for about 25 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the filling is cooked through.

FAQs

Can I make them milder or leave the vindaloo paste out?

Yes, and it is an easy change, because the sausage meat and pastry stay exactly the same. Cut the chillies down to one and halve the chilli powder, which gives you warmth rather than heat. Or skip the paste entirely and season the meat with sage and thyme, though their sausage casserole is a different job.

Is there a Hairy Bikers vegetarian sausage roll?

Two exist, and both are proper recipes rather than swaps. And Veggie Feasts has a vegan version using lentils, aubergine and walnuts, which makes 24 like this one does. So for the vegetarian route, their glamorgan sausages page carries the leek and Caerphilly filling that also rolls into pastry.

Do they have to be made with puff pastry?

Puff is what the recipe is built around, because it needs to rise around a thin log of meat. But shortcrust works if you want something sturdier, which is what holds a cornish pasty together in the hand. Buy all-butter ready-rolled puff where you can, since the cheaper sheets carry more water and steam the base.

Can I use shop-bought vindaloo paste instead?

You can, and it saves the longest part of the recipe, though it will taste different. Use about 4 tablespoons, but cook it down in the pan first because jarred pastes are wetter than this one. And you lose the malt vinegar and jaggery, which are what make the homemade version sharp and slightly sweet.

Can I make them ahead or freeze them?

Make the paste up to three days ahead, because it keeps in the fridge and has to be cold anyway. And the assembled rolls freeze raw on a tray, then bake from frozen with 10 extra minutes. But baked ones only keep two days in a tin, though they travel well for a picnic next to their proper homemade coleslaw.