I’ve been craving comforting TV shows for the past few months. I’ve had lots of health issues lately, and it’s got me feeling weary in body and soul. When I feel like this, I just want to curl up on the couch and watch something cozy. For me, peak comfort television is ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. It’s a PBS Masterpiece show about a Yorkshire countryside veterinary practice in the 1930s-40s (based on the memoir of the same name). I just rewatched all three seasons, and the lovable characters, wholesome story, and cute farm animals soothed me to the depths of my heart. Season Four recently released in Britain, but since I’m in the U.S., I have to wait until January. As I eagerly await Season 4, I’m biding my time by making a menu inspired by all the delicious food in the show.
Today’s recipe is sausage rolls, a staple appetizer at every Skeldale House Christmas party. Since the show’s season finales are always set during Christmas, sausage rolls appear in each one. Sausage rolls are especially prominent in the season three finale, where Jenny desperately tries to force a plate of rolls on Gerald to keep him from leaving the party early.
The filling for these sausage rolls is heavily inspired by Rapunzel’s Braided Pastries in my e-cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC. However, I also took a lot of inspiration from this Jamie Oliver recipe, since I wanted the rolls to be authentically British.
They turned out AMAZING. I love a good sausage roll, and these are top tier (if I do say so myself! 😉).
P.S. If you haven’t read the memoir the show is based on, I highly recommend it. My husband got it for me as a birthday present a couple years ago, and it’s sooo good!
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Skeldale House Sausage Rolls
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 1 Tbsp milk
Makes 12 sausage rolls
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the ground sausage, onion, bread crumbs, 1 egg, garlic, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix until just combined. Set aside.
- On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry into a 12″ square. Cut lengthwise into two 6″ x 12″ rectangles. Divide pork mix in half and shape it into two 12″ logs down the middle of each rectangle. Whisk together the milk and remaining egg.
- Brush the exposed pastry of one of the rectangles with egg wash. Fold one side over the filling, then the other side. Press the seam to seal. Flip seam-side down.
- Repeat Step 3 with remaining rectangle.
- Cut width-wise into 2″ pieces. Space evenly apart on the prepared baking sheets. Brush with remaining egg wash and score the top of each roll twice. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until puffed and cooked through, flipping and rotating the pans halfway through.
- Serve warm at the annual Christmas party at Skeldale House!
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