Italian Sausage Rolls

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

• Italian sausages: Starting with Italian sausages means you’ve already got loads of Italian flavour. You can use mild or spicy, the choice is totally up to you.
• Zucchini: The zucchini adds a little moisture to the mixture. Make sure to grate it finely and there is no need to drain the zucchini.
• Onion: The onion should be coarsely grated. It adds both flavour and a touch of sweetness.
• Sun dried tomatoes: Is there anything more Italian than robust sun dried tomatoes. They add great umami, flavour and touch of sweetness too.
• Bread crumbs: The breadcrumbs aren’t here as filler and don’t detract from the flavour. They do soak up excess moisture though and help to give the filling some structure. Use fine dry bread crumbs.
• Dried basil: If you have fresh basil on hand, feel free to chop up a nice handful of that instead but dried basil adds a nice herby zing. You could swap this for dried oregano, dried parsley or mixed dried Italian herbs.
• Salt: Just a little salt is added as the sausage will already have some.
• Puff pastry: Use a good quality store-bought puff pastry. I use pre-rolled squares so that I can just lay them out and start filling.
• Flour: A little flour is used to help roll out the filling without it sticking to your hands.
• Egg: You’ll need to brush the top of the pastry with an egg wash. I like to use just a yolk and a dash of milk to give the pastry a lovely golden brown sheen.
• Seeds – fennel and black sesame: For an added bit of Italian flavour, I sprinkle fennel seeds over the top. I mix them with black sesame seeds for contrast and a touch of flaky sea salt.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

1. Prepare the puff pastry: Allow the puff pastry to thaw overnight, in the refrigerator. Make sure to keep it cold at all times to get the best rise. I work with just one sheet at a time while the rest stay in the fridge.
2. Prepare the filling: Start by removing the casings from the sausages. Just use a sharp knife to cut all the way along, then peel it away from the meat. Mix the meat with the rest of the filling ingredients (photo 1) until everything is well dispersed and you can roll it into balls.
3. Roll the filling: Take ⅓ cups of the filling mixture and coat it in flour, then roll it into a long log, almost as long as your puff pastry (photo 2).

How to roll sausage rolls

There are a number of ways you can roll sausage rolls, the easiest being literally to just roll it up into a log and leave the seam side of the pastry underneath. I much prefer the way my mum taught me though – it is slightly more effort but not much and it results in glorious crunchy edges every sausage roll.

• Roll the sausage rolls: Run a little water along the side and top edge of pastry. Fold the pastry over the filling and let it meet on the other side (photo 3), then press it together – the water will help to stick it together. Cut the roll away from the rest of the pastry sheet, then use a fork to seal all 3 edges (photo 4) nice and tight. Trim them so they look neat.
• Finish and bake: Now, cut the log into 5 pieces and cut small vent holes in the top of each (photo 5). Brush over the egg wash, then sprinkle over the seed mix (photo 6). Bake for 20-25 minutes until the sausage rolls are golden brown and calling your name.

Variations

• Other pastry / dough: For me, you can’t beat the crispy, crunchy, flaky layers of buttery puff pastry but you certainly can try other options too. These would be lovely in very thin pizza dough (maybe spread over some tomato paste or pizza sauce first). You could use shortcrust pastry or, if it’s available where you are, you could try crescent roll dough too.
• Spice it up: I use regular or mild Italian sausage in these. I love food with a bit of spice and these would be great with either a good pinch of dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) added to the mix or start with spicy sausages.
• Add some cheese: I’ve also added cheese to these before. Take strips of mozzarella and push them into the filling, then wrapping the filling around it. When they bake, you will have some cheese ooze out the ends but you’ll still have plenty inside too. You could also add some finely shredded parmesan cheese to the filling mixture.
• Don’t like zucchini? Swap it for carrot or just leave it out. If you do swap or leave it out, reduce the bread crumbs to ¼ cup.

Yield and storage

This Italian sausage roll recipe makes about 35 mini sausage rolls and when I say mini, these, like all my sausage roll recipes, are 2-3 bites. You can cut them smaller or larger and they bake in roughly the same time.

Leftovers

These sausage rolls are by far best when they are fresh and hot but you can eat them cold. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Making them ahead

You can make the sausage rolls ahead of time too. They’ll be best baked fresh but you can get them completely made and onto baking trays, then leave them in the fridge overnight ready to bake the next day. You can reheat them in the oven or even in the microwave, though they won’t be as crispy.

Freezing instructions

Ever wondered about freezing sausage rolls. Well, you can. Again, make them up completely. You can even egg wash them, then place them on a tray in the freezer. Once they’re solid, transfer to an airtight container with baking paper between the layers.

You can bake the sausage rolls from frozen, just add an extra 10 minutes cooking time.

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