We were invited to my son’s house to celebrate The Melbourne Cup last Tuesday 5th November. Fortunately the weather was just perfect, clear blue sky and lovely sunshine all day with the temperature reaching about 25ºC.
All guests contributed to the festivities by bringing along food that could be eaten during the course of the day, starting off with the usual chicken and champagne.
I have been wanting to make “more healthy” sausage rolls for my grandson for a while, so that he could take them to school for his lunch. As I was in the process of doing this my husband suggested that it would be a great idea to make extra and take them to the party. So instead of the small amount I had intended making, I doubled the quantity, freezing a few first.
The mixture was very easy to put together, and I used bought Pampas Puff Pastry to make the job quicker. Not having any breadcrumbs on hand, I just put a couple of whole-meal bread slices in the blender and made my own. As mentioned in previous posts we grow our own parsley and therefore had plenty to pick. (In fact it helps the plant by picking the stalks, as it can go to seed fairly quickly otherwise).
I like my sausage rolls on the smaller size, but you can cut them however you would like. I also brush mine with beaten egg and sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
These sausage rolls were a great hit with everyone, and they didn’t care what was in them. The fact that they were made from half chicken mince, and carrot and zucchini made no difference. They were a great hit. Hope you have the same success with your family.
Leave a comment and tell me how your family likes the “not so humble sausage roll”?

- 500g sausage mince
- 500g chicken mince
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 carrot – grated
- 1 zucchini – grated
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons parsley – chopped
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 egg - beaten
- 1 egg - beaten (additional for coating rolls)
- salt and pepper
- 4 – 5 sheets puff pastry
- Pre-heat oven to 200ºC.
- Line trays with baking paper.
- Put diced onion, grated carrot and zucchini into bowl.
- Add crushed garlic, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Add sausage and chicken mince to vegetable mix and combine.
- Add 1 beaten egg and mix until well combined. (I use my hands for best results).
- Take 1 sheet of puff pastry and cut in half.
- Wet hands and roll meat mixture into sausage shape and place on one side of cut pastry.
- You will get two uncut rolls from one sheet of pastry.
- Brush one edge of pastry with additional beaten egg mixture and fold pastry over meat filling to form a roll, pressing down on edge to seal. You can use a fork to make a design if you wish.
- Cut into 3cm pieces (I cut mine smaller than this) and with a sharp knife put a small incision on top of each roll to allow steam to escape.
- Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds if liked.
- Put on baking trays and bake at 200ºC for about 25 – 30 minutes. If you have cut them smaller than 3cm they may take less cooking time, (check on them after 20 minutes). Cook until they are light brown and the pastry is crispy.
- Serve with your favourite sauce.