Bubble and Squeak Sausage Rolls

Hmm what to cook what to cook.  Translation: what can I cook this chilly afternoon that means I don’t need to leave the warm house?  They say that necessity is the mother of invention and so I give you this recipe because a) I always have pastry in the freezer (see previous posts) and b) I always cook too much when I make a roast so there are always leftovers.

Normally I am a big fan of good old bubble and squeak – melt some (OK, lots) of butter, chop up your leftover veg and roast meat and fry it up until little crispy yummy bits form, and serve on toast.  And by all means, this is still a fabulous option.

But today I had just decided to make some sort of vegetarian sausage roll (as I always have about 10 cans of lentils for some reason) and was pulling out the canned goods, onion, garlic, carrot etc when I thought “I really can’t be bothered with this” and so did the old stare into the fridge waiting for inspiration trick and voila – there was my container of leftovers just waiting to be whipped up into another lovely dinner.

So I put away everything else, and felt very thrifty indeed when I pulled this together.  The list of ingredients is a little vague, but I think if you just use what you have it should come together with the consistency of a sausage mix.  If too dry, add an egg.  If too moist, add some breadcrumbs until it feels right.

The best part is, you know this is going to taste delicious because I'm guessing your roast tasted pretty darn good last night too.

Ingredients (makes 8 sausage rolls) 

Leftover roasted veg and meat (I used roughly 1 carrot, 1 potato, a big chunk of sweet potato, 1 onion, about a cup of peas, and a handful of lamb) 

1 tbsp curry powder (optional, if you feel like a different flavour after gorging yourself on a roast dinner)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 sheets puff pastry

1 egg

Poppy seeds or sesame seeds (optional, purely decorative)

Directions

Heat the oven to 180°C and line two trays with baking paper.

Take your pastry out of the freezer to thaw a little on a tray each.

Place all of your leftovers into a small food processor and bring together.

Pour into a large bowl, and add the curry powder (if using) and seasoning.  Add the egg or breadcrumbs if needed.

Cut each of your squares of pastry in half.  Spoon a quarter of the mixture onto each pastry rectangle and form into a sausage shape, the length of the pastry.

Beat an egg in a cup.  Using a pastry brush, paint the egg down the left side of the pastry.  Pick up the right side and roll over to join onto the eggy left side.  Use your finger to smooth down the seam and then place the roll seam-side down on the tray.  Cut into desired size (I cut them in half).  Brush with the egg and sprinkle with the seeds (if using).

Place in the hot oven and bake for around 40 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside.  Serve with tomato sauce and enjoy.  Also tastes delicious the next day for lunch.