Sausage Rolls

A sweet childhood memory of mine whilst living in England is eating flaky pastry, stuffed with savory sausage filling... also known as a sausage roll . I've been wanting to try and make these for a few months now, so when I saw REFRIGERATED puff pastry at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, (I've only ever seen frozen and I'm not patient enough to wait for it to defrost), I knew the time had come to give it a try.

After reading through a few different recipes it was quickly apparent that all I really needed for the filling was some pork sausage, some kind of bread crumbs, whatever spices I like and a beaten egg to bind it all together. I'm a huge fan of the combination of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, (a blend I honestly first tried after listening to the song "Scarborough Fair"), so I decided that would be the basis of my spices for this go. I don't think I'll be changing that... we loved these so much. Dee literally said that it was the best thing I'd ever made. I'm still not sure if I should be offended or proud of that. Ha!

These are ridiculously easy and sooooooooooooo yummy. Eat alone or dip in your favorite condiment... like spicy brown mustard. :)

Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry (I use the Wewalka brand, found in the refrigerated section.)
1 egg
1lb Pork Sausage (I use Jimmy Dean regular premium sausage.)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
fresh cracked black pepper

Egg wash: 1 egg whisked together with 1 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie tray with a silicone baking mat, or parchment paper.

Open up the puff pastry and cut it in half lengthwise on a cutting board. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg till a little foamy. Add the sausage, panko break crumbs, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix together well with your hands till everything is well combined.

Divide the sausage mixture in two and form in to logs down the center of each half of the pastry. Brush some egg wash down the sides and wrap the pastry gently around the sausage, pushing the pastry together to seal. Flip the long rolls over placing the seam on the bottom and cut each log in half and then each half again in to four or five, giving you 16-20 sausage rolls total, depending on how big you want them. Cut two small slits in the top of each roll, place the rolls on the prepared cookie tray, brush each roll with egg wash and throw in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until they are puffed up and golden brown on top.

Let cool slightly and serve. They can be stored in a baggie in the refrigerator and snacked on for a few days. They are good cold, or heat for 15-20 seconds in the microwave if desired.

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