Sausage Rolls With Apricots and Honey

Cut the pastry in half lengthways

Chop finely

Sausagemeat, sage, apricots, honey

Mix until well combined and divide into 2

Place the filling down the pastry

Bring the edges up and seal, brush with egg to glaze

Cut into mini rolls

Space on baking trays

Fabulous for parties, picnics, walks

They disappear fast!

Scrummy snacks for a great sea front walk

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Sausage rolls can induce a bored groan from those who immediately think of stodgy, clumsily seasoned shop- bought varieties. But with the right recipe, the unassuming, simple sausage roll has a lot going for it in terms of a practical, satisfying alternative to a sandwich. They make a lovely lunch box surprise or a welcome, hearty walking snack.  As a finger- licking party bite, these sausage rolls are unbeatable.

These sausage rolls have a savoury- sweet flavour with honey and chopped apricots. They are incredibly quick and easy to make and are sinfully more-ish.

This recipe is one I have made for several years now for autumn walking snacks, Bonfire Night gatherings and Christmas “get- togethers”. It is adapted from a Waitrose recipe, published in November 2007. These sausage rolls can be served with a tangy dip made by mixing equal quantities of tomato ketchup with sweet chilli sauce.

Ingredients

375 g pack of ready- rolled puff pastry

450 g of good quality, lightly seasoned sausage- meat

70 g soft dried apricots, finely chopped

0.5 tsp of dried sage or 3 fresh sage leaves finely chopped

2 tbsp runny honey

1 beaten egg to glaze

Tin

2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment

Oven

Pre- heat the oven to 220C (200C Fan)/ Gas Mark 7

Method

1. Unroll the puff pastry and with a sharp knife, cut it in half lengthways.

2. In a bowl, mix the sausage meat, sage, honey and chopped apricots. The easiest way to get filling ingredients evenly combined is to use your hands.

3. Divide the filling mixture into 2 even halves. Shape each half into a long sausage down the length of each puff pastry rectangle, as shown in the picture above.

4. Fold up the pastry edges so that one slightly overlaps the other on top of the filling. Pinch and squash the edges together slightly so that the sausage rolls are sealed.

5. Use a pastry brush to brush each length with the beaten egg.

6. Cut each of the long sausage rolls into 10 roughly equal mini sausage rolls.

7. Place the sausage rolls onto the baking sheets leaving a little space between each one.

8. Bake in the centre of the pre- heated oven for 10 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 200C (180C Fan)/ Gas Mark 6 and bake for another 10- 15 minutes until the pastry is golden, risen and the filling is fully cooked.

These sausage rolls are delicious served warm but are very good cold too. They do freeze well (uncooked) so are fabulous for “getting ahead” at Christmas time. The apricots can be substituted for dried cranberries for a super- festive alternative.