The one thing I really look forward to eating at Christmas time is cranberry sauce.. I’ll eat it in a cheese toastie, in a roll with turkey, with ANY roast. But then I came up with the idea of putting it in a sausage roll… and trust me, it’s a winner!
Ingredients
- 500g Puff Pastry
- 500g Pork Mince (Minimal Fat content)
- 1 Small Onion
- ½ Stick Celery
- 6 Tbsp Cranberry Sauce
- 300g Thinly Sliced Back Bacon (Fat Removed)
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 Egg
Directions
- To make your sausage meat: Finely dice the onion and celery and add to a medium sized bowl with the pork mince and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Use your hands to bring the mixture together into one large ball.
- To roll the pastry: Cut the pastry in half and place one half on a lightly floured work surface – wrap up the other half and keep in the fridge until needed. Neatly roll the pastry into a rectangle about 25/50cm (This doesn’t have to be exact). The pastry should be about 3mm thick.
- Lay out the bacon, slightly overlapping itself, lengthways on to the pastry. Add 3 table spoons of cranberry sauce and spread over the bacon. Take half of the sausage meat and spread along the middle of the bacon (Roll it into a sausage shape on a clean work surface beforehand to make it easier and less messy). Lift the bacon piece by piece and wrap it around the sausage meat.
- Crack the egg into a small bowl and lightly whisk. With a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg along the edge of the pastry closest to you. Lift the pastry from the opposite side and fold over the sausage meat and fillings. Press down firmly and push out any air bubbles. Use a fork to press the edges together and make ridges. Then use a sharp knife to cut along the edge, making the edge neat and even.
- Cut the sausage rolls to about 4 cm thickness and place on a lined baking tray. Place in the fridge for 40 minutes to allow the pastry to firm up.
- Meanwhile, repeat the steps with the remaining pastry and filling.
- Preheat the oven to 200ᵒC. Once the sausage rolls have firmed up, cover with kitchen foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, brush egg wash over the sausage rolls and bake for a further 5 minutes. (Liquid is likely to come out of the sausage rolls because of the cranberry sauce and the juices from the meat – turn the sausage rolls on their sides and bake for a further 5 minutes to crisp up the bottoms if they aren’t crispy already).
- Remove the sausage rolls to a wire rack and allow to cool slightly before enjoying warm with a glass of red or a cup of tea!
