Name: Vegetarian Sausage Rolls
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 16 sausage rolls
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium (180g) white onion (finely chopped); 150 g chestnut mushrooms (wiped clean then roughly chopped); 1 heaped tsp butter; 1 heaped tbsp of thyme leaves; 2 heaped tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary; 2 cloves of garlic (minced); 1 x 250g pack of cooked Puy lentils; 1 x 180g pack of cooked chestnuts (roughly chopped); 1 tsp vegetable bouillon; 150 ml freshly boiled water; 2 heaped tbsp red currant jelly; 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper; 1 1/2 tsp sea salt (plus more for topping the pastry); 40 g breadcrumbs (white or wholewheat is fine); 1 375g sheet of all-butter puff pastry; 2 tbsp milk; 1 medium egg (whisked)

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Vegetarian Sausage Rolls are the perfect snack any time of the year. These vegetarian sausage rolls are easy to make, they taste amazing! And they’re great for picnics, parties and lunch boxes.

A meaty mixture of mushrooms, lentils, chestnuts with herbs and garlic make the perfect filling for these veggie sausage rolls. Red currant jelly adds a little richness and depth to the flavour of these rolls, so please don’t skip this bit. Breadcrumbs hold the mixture together and if you use a good, all-butter puff pastry you will have the best vegetarian sausage rolls.

How to Make Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Make the filling, add the onion to a skillet and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes.
The mixture will have reduced by about half, then add the herbs and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
Add the lentils and the chestnuts to the mushrooms, you’ll need to stir this well so everything is combined.
Pour in the vegetable stock, I use a vegetable bouillon for this, it’s low sodium and vegetarian.
Next, add the red currant jelly. This adds a lovely flavour the sausage rolls so try not to skip it. You should find it in all the supermarkets. Cook the mixture over a low to medium heat until the juices evaporate.
Now stir in the breadcrumbs, mix it well then leave it to cool. You can check your seasoning now.
Once the filling has cooled roll out the pastry, roll it out a little more with a rolling pin. Cut the pastry in half lengthways, you should have two long rectangles. Divide the filling in two then place the filling along the pastry and shape into a long sausage, leaving more room on the side you will be turning over the filling.
Fold over the pastry, wrapping the filling in the pastry. Brush the edges of the pastry with milk then seal the edges with a fork. Cut the long sausage roll in half then place in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once chilled take the sausage rolls out of the fridge and place on two baking trays lined with baking paper. Cut the sausage rolls into smaller rolls, I had 16 sausage rolls, use a sharp knife to make a couple of slits in the pastry. Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
The sausage rolls should be a deep golden brown colour and the pastry should be crisp when they are done. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack.

Tips for Making your Best Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

Make sure the filling has cooled before you place in on the pastry. If the filling is too hot it will heat up the pastry and it will be harder to work with.
Always preheat the oven. You will get the best results for the pastry when you put it in a hot oven.
A good all-butter puff pastry gives the very best results but regular puff pastry works very well too. Nobody in my family has turned their noses up at these when I used a regular puff pastry.
Be generous with the eggwash, it will give the sausage rolls a beautiful golden colour.
Don’t forget to make the slashes in the pastry, this will let any steam from the filling escape and avoid a soggy pastry.

Storing and Making Ahead

These vegetarian sausage rolls will keep, in the fridge, for 2 to 3 days, however, they lasted just one day in my house! You could also freeze these if you wanted to make them ahead of time. Freeze them when they are filled and cut into individual rolls, place them on baking trays, place them in the freezer for a couple of hours, then when they are frozen take them off the trays and place in labelled freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months, defrost and brush with egg wash before cooking. You can make the filling a day before if you wish, leave it to cool and store it covered in the fridge until you are ready to make them.

Cook’s Notes:

These veggie sausage rolls really are best served warm, and we like them with a little ketchup, but I know some of you like mustard with your sausage rolls so whatever rocks your boat. I quite like spicy beetroot ketchup with these too. I have made a few different variations of sausage rolls in the past, however, I really wanted to make a vegetarian sausage roll that meat lovers would really love. Good enough that they won’t miss the meat. This is no word of a lie, every single time I make these, they vanish into thin air! Within minutes! My family loves these, I hope you love them as much as we do.

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