Who Knew a Vegetarian Sausage Roll Could be Awesome?!

Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

I'm a reasonably big meat eater (sorry Vegetarians and Vegans!).  I probably don't always eat meat everyday but I do enjoy the taste of meat.  Many would joke that Australian meat pies and sausage rolls have very limited meat in them and I would agree with them if we were looking at the dodgy pies and rolls that are bought at sports games or convenience stores.

I had sampled a 'Vegetarian' sausage roll at a morning tea and was amazed by the texture and flavour.  Basically it was better than a regular sausage roll and I was inspired to try and re-create my own at home.  This recipe is delicious mostly due to the pecan nuts.  They give a great texture and flavour and I love anything with pecans in it!

What you will need:
4 sheets of puff pastry
2 x 400g cans of lentils, rinsed and drained well (I squish excess water out with my hands)
1 small brown onion
2 small carrots grated
3/4 cup of chopped pecan nuts
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
stick of celery finely chopped
1/4 cup of BBQ sauce, or tomato chutney for moisture, sweetness and flavour.
seasonings, garlic, salt, pepper etc... how you like it!
egg for egg wash

How to!

• lightly cook the onions, carrot and celery in a cast iron pan.  You want to soften the veggies!
• allow to cool and pop in a mixing bowl with all the other ingredients and mix well.
• check your seasonings!  I added a bit of red pepper flakes at this point.
• Cut your thawed pastry in half and spoon the mixture down one side
• using the egg wash, brush down the edge of the other side, roll over to make a long sausage shape.  Make sure that the pastry is all sealed on the side
• egg wash the top and cut into sections.  You can either cut into 4 mini sausage rolls or into 6 bite sized party rolls!
• pop into the oven set at about 180 degrees Celsius. This iis a bit dependent on your oven.  Mine is quite hot but you may need to lift to 200!  
• These guys will take about 20 minutes to 30 minutes to cook
• serve with tomato sauce or a delicious home made chutney!

We are definitely getting through our chutney! It is amazing on these delicious sausage rolls.  You can find my recipe for Green Tomato Chutney here!