I use to love me a good sausage roll. Trust me I have had my fair share in my younger days. I use to work at a local bakery as my after school job. It was one of the best jobs ever. Free bakery food anyone? I use to down one or two sausage rolls a week when I worked there. Not to mention a lamington, vanilla slice, pie, mini pizza and maybe a danish some where in there during the few afternoons a week I worked. I can't believe I wasn't the size of house. Unfortunately now that I am dairy intolerant my bakery days are now over. Sadly these home made sausage rolls are not dairy free as the pastry contains dairy but I wanted to share them with those who can partake in a good flaky pastry. These were just too darn good not to share. Hubby loves a good sausage roll himself and is always unsatisfied with the offerings at most of the bakeries around town.

One Saturday we were debating what to make for dinner. My meal plan is usually the go to source for dinner but it was a night that I did not feel like making what I had planned. I think it was my Indian Beef Curry but wasn't in the mood for spicy food. Having some pork mince in the freezer I decided sausage roll making was in order. After consulting the sausage roll expert on what flavourings we should add we went with sage and pine nut. A classic flavour combination to spice up a plain bit of pork mince. I also took the opportunity to hide some veggies in the pork mince for the little guy. He has been atrocious lately in his eating habits and trying to force him to eat anything on his plate has been a nightmare. Most meal times are fraught with tension but when I served these up he happily downed one and promptly asked for another.... winning. Let's not talk about the uneaten vegetables gracing his plate shall we. That's another story.

So with husband and toddler approval I would definitely recommend serving a plate of these up to your family, friends or even your kids next birthday party. They are free of nasties and full of goodness. The sage and pine nut compliment the pork nicely and with a crispy and flaky puff pastry casing it goes down a real treat. You might see a strange ingredient in the list below... fish sauce. Yes that is not mistake. It adds a wonderful depth of flavour but you cannot taste it in the overall dish. Trust me on this! OH and make sure you add pepper lots and lots of it. Pork loves pepper! If you can't eat puff pastry like me I simple made some of the mince mixture into patties and baked them along side the sausage rolls. They were tasty just by themselves and a great option for those with dairy or gluten allergies.

Pork, Sage & Pine Nut Sausage Rolls

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 25-30 min
Makes: 16 pieces

Ingredients:

500g pork mince
1 red onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sage, finely cut
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 egg
3 tablespoons flaxseed meal (or use 1/4 bread crumbs)
2-3 sheets puff pastry
Milk to glaze
Sesame seeds to garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
In a large bowl place the pork mince, onion, carrot, garlic, sage, salt & pepper, pine nuts, fish sauce, egg and flax seed meal (or bread crumbs).
Using clean hands mix all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
Cut the sheets of puff pastry in half. Brush the edges with milk.
Form a line of meat in the shape of a sausage about 3 cm in from the long edge of one half of the pastry. Roll the pastry up tightly encasing the meat mixture.
Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cut the roll into four even pieces and place onto the baking tray. Repeat filling the pastry with the remaining mixture.
Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.

Cooks Notes

Flaxseed meal is flaxseeds ground to a fine meal. This is just a healthier alternative to breadcrumbs. It can generally be found in the health food section of your supermarket or health food shop.
If you can't eat puff pastry these are still delicious rolled and made into patties and either baked or cooked on the BBQ.