Sometimes I get a lightbulb moment and making the sausage for the vegetarian sausage roll was one of those. I wanted to make something that had the texture and flavour of a real sausage, not of the vegetable or cheese, and I think I got there.
Extract taken from Vegetarian, Hassle Free, Gluten Free
by Jane Devonshire (£22, Bloomsbury Absolute)
Photography © Mike Cooper
I didn’t want to use meat substitutes in this book but I have used traditional proteins from Asia, tempeh being one of those. I bought some jars quite cheaply online and then set about using them. I think it’s the closest to a meat texture I have found and can be blitzed to look like sausagemeat. I am really happy with these sausage rolls and they are genuinely very easy to make. The instructions below are for cocktail sausage rolls but you can make any size you like.
Vegetarian Sausage Rolls
I am really happy with these sausage rolls and they are genuinely very easy to make. The instructions below are for cocktail sausage rolls but you can make any size you like.
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4-5 sage leaves finely chopped
- a splash sunflower oil
- 1 jar tempeh drained weight 240g
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 grind black pepper
- 1 large free-range egg
- 30 g gluten-free breadcrumbs I use Mrs Crimble’s
- 1 pack gluten-free ready-made puff pastry
- 1 large free-range egg beaten, to egg wash
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas Mark 7. Gently fry off the onion and sage in the oil for about 5 minutes, until softened and cooked through.
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Pulse-blend the drained tempeh until it has the texture of traditional sausage meat. Add the cooked onion and sage and the salt, black pepper, egg and breadcrumbs to the tempeh and stir through thoroughly.
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Roll out your pastry and cut it into two strips, about 26–28cm long and 9–10cm wide. On a lightly floured board, gently roll out the filling mixture to about the size of a normal sausage and place it on the pastry, slightly off centre. Repeat, joining the rolls of filling together into one long roll, until you have nearly reached the end of each pastry strip. Egg wash along one long edge of the pastry and fold over gently, pressing to make a tight seal.
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Using a sharp knife, cut through each roll every 3–4cm, to make cocktail sausage rolls. Make two slashes in the top of each sausage roll through the pastry to the sausage meat. Egg wash and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden and risen.
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Tip: You can make these really herby or spicy depending on what you like best. Personally, I love brushing the inside of the pastry with gluten-free yeast extract and mixing some vegetarian Italian hard cheese into the sausage mixture for something quite different.