Sausage & Veggie Rolls

Ok, so this one is a bit Australian, but works really well with kids who are fussy on veggies. We usually serve sausage rolls as party food for kids' parties, but there's no reason to save them for special occasions. The sausage part is freezeable, so you can over-cater and enjoy a cooking-free evening sometime in the future (shucks!).

I don't believe I've seen these in the U.S., but who knows, they might be lurking somewhere, so apologies if this is the most obvious recipe ever. I enjoy making my own - basically so I know what's gone into them (the word sausage does not inspire confidence) but also because I can load them with veggies, something my three and a half year old is happy to eat when she can pretend they're not there.

The other great thing about them is that they require left over veggies that were tomorrow's trash candidates, making them pretty economical too. So here goes. (and sorry, the picture's not mine, I just thought it might clarify my rather lame description below).



Ingredients:

• About a pound of ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, lamb)



• About 2 cups of whatever veggies you have in the fridge that can be grated/minced - sweet potato, garlic, zucchini (not too much or the rolls get soggy), butternut squash, carrot, potato, mushrooms...



• 1 onion



• 2 Tbsp tomato paste (ketchup also works in a pinch)



• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs



• about teaspoon or so of dried herbs - I usually use thyme, but oregano, rosemary, sage, whatever would work to give a little flavor.



• 1 egg



• a couple (3 usually works for me) of sheets of puff pastry, defrosted

Method:

1. Grate all the veggies as finely as possible; and grate or dice the onion as finely as possible. A food processor is a huge time (and knuckle) saver here.



2. Mix the veggies well with the meat, breadcrumbs, tomato paste and dried herbs.



3. Cut your puff pastry into half (it comes in squares here approx. 10x10 inches - I have no idea what size you get in the US, but you need a rectangle.



4. Roll the sausage mixture into logs the length of the long side of your rectangle. Place the log into the middle of the rectangle and wrap the pastry to enclose the sausage, then brush with lightly beaten egg. Cut sausage rolls into desired lengths.



5. Cook at about 400F (200C) on a tray lined with baking paper until golden brown, approx. 20-30 minutes. Serve while hot with tomato ketchup for dipping.

Freezing:
You can freeze these at the 'sausage' stage. I like to roll the sausages into logs so they're ready to defrost and pop into the pastry, but you could also freeze it as a big chunk and roll on defrosting. Seal in snaplock bags and store for up to 2 months in the freezer.


Variations:
I'm guessing you could also substitute starchy veggies for the meat for a vegetarian version, though I haven't tried it yet. You just need something to hold it all together.


You can also omit the pastry and just make little sausages, which is good for really little eaters, though it's a bit trickier to keep it all together while cooking.


If you're making these for guests or a party, sprinkle some sesame seeds, cumin seeds, or poppy seeds on top after brushing with egg and before baking.