Sue was my childhood neighbour and one of the women I spent a good many hours with at her home in Darwin after school and on the weekend while my mother worked. Thinking about it now my mother did, in fact, have a village helping her raise me and I wonder if that’s how she saw it then regardless of Sue was my girl crush as a child.
She always looked beautiful, always had a tale to tell of her life in England, she drove a sky blue 1950’s MG, had short bobby blonde hair and an English accent that was straight from a movie set. She was everything muggy, barefoot singlet wearing, timed slowed Darwin was not and for me, was the epitome of beauty and class. She was like a mirage in the humidity to me and probably to most blokes in Darwin too and to top it off she made a fine Sausage Roll. She made them every time she threw a party and played Doctors Hook “walk right in” which was often typically she loved an intimate party or two.
As a child I always thought the Sausage Roll was an Australian thing and I thought it was ironic that she an English woman had taught me however as I have come to understand nothing is as it seems and they were, in fact, a French treat taken by the English as there own so perhaps Australian after all {Pavlova casein point}.
Sue’s recipe was a lot simpler than this one and it didn’t have any breadcrumbs in it but then she didn’t need to stretch the recipe out for she never had any children of her own with exception of a standard black poodle named Brittany. This is her recipe altered and changed over the years to become mine.
These are perfect frozen and stored for when you have one extra child at the table.
Sausage Roll
What you will need:
- 5oog sausage mince
- 300 g beef or chicken mince
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 carrot grated
- 1 onion grated
- 1 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs (optional)
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
- 500g or 3 ready-rolled sheets puff pastry
- 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- sesame seeds to sprinkle
How to:
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Combine the mince, eggs, breadcrumbs, carrot, onion, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Roll out the pastry to 3 mm (1/8 in) thick and cut into 12cm (5 in) x 24 cm (10 in) pieces or cut each ready-rolled pastry sheet in half. Divide the sausage mixture into six equal portions, roll into sausage shapes and place down the centre of each piece of pastry. Roll to enclose, placing the pastry seam underneath.Cut the sausage rolls into thirds and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Brush with the egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
These can either be a snack, put in the kids lunch boxes or make a little bigger and plate up with salad for dinner.
Simple and easy.
x Deb
