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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Vegetarian English Sausage Rolls



These vegetarian sausage rolls made with Gimme Lean Sausage and puff pastry were outstanding! I've wanted to try making a veggie version of this English classic for a while now, but had no idea they'd be this good. Hubby had four and said he could have eaten four more (and he's not a vegetarian). My vegan friends also loved them.

I initially thought I'd cook up some preformed veggie sausages and wrap them in pastry. But English sausage rolls are actually very soft, not typically a solid formed sausage. I reviewed my mum's old Good Housekeeping Cooking Compedium (the cookbook I grew up with) and, sure enough, the recipe called for loose sausage meat formed into sausage-like shapes by hand with a little flour. That little epiphany was what made these sausage rolls great!

Gimme Lean Sausage was the perfect product to use for these (and, to be honest, I very rarely use it). I used defrosted premade Puff Pastry (Pepperidge Farms, I think). All you do is form small sausages out of the Gimme Lean Sausage with a little flour, wrap the sausages in a rectangle of puff pastry (sealing all the sides with your fingers), score the top with diagonal lines, and brush with beaten egg for that brown, shiny look (optional, but very nice if you're not vegan). Bake on a greased tray at 400 for 10-15 minutes (mine were about 4" long and took 15 minutes).

The sausage rolls must be served with Coleman's English mustard, a hot mustard that is absolutely perfect with these.



I made a meal of these with Heinz Baked Beans and salad with English Salad Cream.



The best!

p.s. I'm finally back up on DSL and getting email. My email was lost in the ether for about 10 days, so, if you emailed me and I didn't respond, please resend. Cheers!

19 Comments:

Blogger Sam said...

when i was a vegan i was addicted to sainsburys premade frozen sausage rolls which were actually vegan, but tasted pretty much the real mccoy.

i LOVE sausage rolls. umm, i must make some.

baked beans though? i am not sure about that.

10:21 AM  
Blogger Alanna Kellogg said...

Would you ever make mini ones as appetizers? There's only one vegetarian in my circle of friends and I'm always on the look-out for a hearty appetizer that she can eat and others will enjoy too.

10:23 AM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Hi Sam, these seemed very authentic (except the sausage color) to me, but I have to admit its been ... a while. I'll make some for you next time we get together (remind me). I knew you'd knock the baked beans, but we love them! If you don't like them, sub spaghetti-o's.

Hi Alanna,

You could definitely make them smaller. The puff pastry is pretty forgiving. These really don't taste vegetarian, but skip the egg wash and their vegan.

1:05 PM  
Blogger Susan Voisin said...

These look too good! Seriously, I mean TOO good, as in "You're making me hungry in the middle of the day for stuff I'm not supposed to eat" good! LOL

I love Gimme Lean in anything. Puff pastry would just be divine.

1:55 PM  
Blogger spiceislandvegan said...

Hi Catherine,

This looks very delish! My mom used to make a Dutch version called Sosijsbrood (sausage in bread). This reminds me of it. What a good idea to use Gimme Lean! Gimme Lean was not my favorite when I just became a vegetarian. Now I like it.

Thanks for the idea!

SIV

2:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Aaaah yeah, pastry and beans. That used to be my dinner most nights until I realised my waistline was expanding!!

Veggie mini sausage rolls sound great too!

10:20 PM  
Blogger Jen said...

a great take on the classic sausage roll. Very tasty !

5:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm really confused. Puff pastry has TONS of butter in it. How can it be vegan??? vegetarian, yes, but vegan, NO.

7:39 AM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Anon,

Good question. I, too, was surprised. My vegan friend happened to be here when I made them and checked the package ingredients (Pepperidge Farms). They used vegetable shortening(soybean and cottonseed oils) in place of butter (although you can't tell to taste it). Pretty cool, huh!

7:47 AM  
Blogger Catherine said...

I couldn't find the puff pastry ingredients online, but I did find this cool list of "I Can't Believe It's Vegan" products at PETA.org. I'll add it to my veg. links.

9:11 AM  
Blogger Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I haven't found great-tasting nonmeat sausage, so thanks for the Gimme Lean recommendation. I'll look for it, because these sausage rolls look so delicious.

6:31 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Honestly, gimme lean worked for these because the original requires loose sausage. If you want real sausage, alone, I'd recommend Mornings Star Sausage Patties.

8:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post! Ive been buying my Baked Beans, and Salad cream from www.spicyusa.com. They are the cheapest Ive found so far and they deliver pretty fast. Where do you get yours from?

10:02 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Anon - I got the baked beans at Cost Plus and I think my mum got me the salad cream from the British Food Center in San Jose.

7:09 AM  
Blogger Crystal said...

Even the meat-eaters in the family loved these...they were wonderful. Thanks for posting this recipe.

3:52 PM  
Blogger Vanessa said...

This is wonderful! Love the photo of the full British spread!

2:10 PM  
Blogger Kate said...

I just made these for supper and they were WONDERFUL!!!! Thank you for posting such great recipes! I cannot wait to try more!!!!!

3:21 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Katie - aren't they fab! Glad you enjoyed the too. Thanks for visiting.

3:59 PM  
Blogger Kate said...

Hi Catherine,

They were beyond fab!!! :) I have been wanting some sausage rolls for awhile now!! That hit the spot!! I had one reheated for lunch today and it was just as good!!! I will be trying the lentil salad next!!! :)

PS. My non veggie husband even liked them!

5:22 PM  

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