"Veggie" Sausage Rolls

I've been vegetarian since age 14. Half of my life, actually. Wow, that's weird to say. Before I turned vegetarian, I loved an appetizer my mother would make for my parents' annual Boxing Day Party. Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in England on the day after Christmas. According to Wikkipedia, there are many possible reasons for the holiday. I particularly like the tradition that Boxing Day was the day when you "boxed" a gift to give to the people who work for you all year long (for example the postman, milkman etc). You can read more here. But, for whatever reason, Boxing Day is the day we would hold our annual open house cocktail party. Since Americans don't celebrate Boxing Day, my parents found that the party was well attended and so the tradition continued throughout the years.

It wouldn't be Boxing Day without sausage rolls. My mother would cook up sausage, roll out puff pastry dough and line strips of dough with the sausage filling. Next, she would roll over the dough and seal with a little egg wash. The process was simple, quick and the yield made the recipe perfect for a cocktail party as many rolls could be quickly produced at one time. I decided to replicate this with "veggie" sausage filling for our Oscar party last week. It was a success, the rolls were easy to prepare and well received by a non-vegetarian crowd. I don't have a picture since my camera was still held hostage at school, but there's still a piece of puff pastry dough in the freezer - perhaps more rolls will be forthcoming in the weeks to come.

"Veggie" Sausage Rolls

My notes - I found one tube of "veggie sausage" was just about enough for one piece of puff pastry dough. I had a little bit of sausage stuffing left, but I was generous in my application of sausauge to the rolls.

1 roll of "Gimme Lean" or vegetarian sausage
1 piece of puff pastry dough, thawed (boxes typically contain 2 pieces)
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside.

Open sausage packet, and place in small bowl. Stir with a fork.

Unroll pastry. Roll into square/rectangle and cut into long strips about 2 inches wide.

Spread "sausage" down the center of one strip of puff pastry. Paint egg wash along edge of strip and roll over, pressing dry side of pastry into egg wash. Cut into small 1 inch sized pieces and place on cookie sheet. Brush top of pieces with egg wash. Repeat as necessary.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!