I have always loved British entertainment.
Lately, my obsession has been with a British podcast called “Off Menu.” It features comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster, and the premise is really simple. They ask guests to join them in their fictitious “dream restaurant,” and then they go course by course through the guest’s dream meal.
It’s a fantastic basis for great conversation, and it has not only left me pondering what I would choose for my own best meal, but I have also found myself looking up recipes for a variety of dishes they discuss.
So far, I have tried one: sausage rolls. While it isn’t fancy at all—it’s really just something you grab on the go—after hearing about the concoction several times, I decided I had to give it a try.
The recipe I used for this comes from the blog “Australia’s Best Recipes” by Greer Worsley. You can find the original post at https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipes/french-onion-sausage-rolls-recipe/68pmwql0. I added extra seasoning in my version and changed the measurements to U.S. standards.
Onion sausage rolls
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 envelope onion soup mix 1 ounce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown or dijon mustard
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 sheets puff pastry 17.3 ounces, defrosted
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390 degrees. Prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, soup mix, ketchup, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix it well with a spoon or with your hands until it’s well combined.
- Roll out the pastry sheets to about nine inches wide, and cut them each into three, even, long strips (there should be a fold seam to guide you).
- Divide the pork mixture evenly between the six strips, forming a long log down the center of each strip.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush the mixture the entire length on either the left or right side of the meat mixture on each strip. Roll the pastry, starting with the side you didn’t brush, to create a very long tube, surrounding the meat mixture. Press the seam to seal it, and then, using a sharp knife, cut the roll into about six pieces. (You can do fewer pieces if you’d rather have larger sausage rolls.) Place the rolls about an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
- Serve with mustard for dipping.
I know that I would need to take a trip across the pond to get “real deal” sausage rolls, but these were really yummy. Cutting them into the smaller pieces also makes them perfect for an appetizer table, but we ended up just eating a few for dinner, and they were filling and delicious. The flavor profile actually reminded me just a bit of bierocks—without the cabbage, of course.
The puff pastry was also a great touch, making the rolls awesome and flaky. I highly recommend giving them a try.
If I were challenged to create my dream menu, I don’t think sausage rolls would make the cut—I have had way too many great dishes, I’m afraid. But I do think I’ll make these again sometime. They were a nice change of pace, an easy dinner, and it finally satisfied my craving. Win-win-win.
This piece first appeared in print on March 23, 2023.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
