A lot of evidence is suggesting that we should eat less meat and have more plant-based meals. David Attenborough supported this idea on his latest Netflix film which I have to say was absolutely compelling.
It is obvious to see that all our meat production is not having the best outcomes for planet Earth, and by choosing to have a more moderate consumption, we can reduce the negative impact.
We have more than one vegetarian in our family, or rather pescatarian. They still eat some fish now and then. So it can be a bit challenging sometimes to find recipes that are both easy and delicious for the whole family.
When you grow up having meat as a regular part of your diet, that covers a whole lot of home-cooking classics. What to do when every single night you have to prepare one meat-free meal for someone in the family?
You come up with new classics! This one is easy, and has some interesting ingredients. The combination creates a sausage roll worthy of any football game half-time.
One of my sons is definitely not vegetarian, in fact he would likely scoff at the thought. I was super pleased when he said the sausage rolls were great, and asked for another one…..not realising it wasn’t meat, and very surprised!
Make them and be your own judge. This recipe makes 20 sausage rolls, each one about 10cm long. The trick is in the texture which I will explain in the recipe.
And there is no soy-based, plant protein pretend mince in sight.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Pecan nuts
- 3 large Swiss Brown Mushrooms
- 1 small leek
- 2 small carrots
- 1 400g tin brown lentils
- 1 small container tomato paste (140g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
- Black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Sweet Paprika
- 5 sheets Puff Pastry
- 1 egg for basting
- sesame seeds
Instructions
Step 1
- Chop pecan nuts in a blender until slightly more chunky than bread crumbs
- Chop the leek finely (don't be tempted to blend everything, do it by hand to achieve a better texture)
- Grate the carrots
- Chop up the mushrooms into small little bits
- Put all the above ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.
- Take out puff pastry sheets, separate and allow to thaw while you are preparing the filling.
Step 2
- Turn on the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, or 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or Moderate Oven.
- Rinse and drain lentils in a colander, add to bowl.
- Stir in container of tomato paste
- Add salt, pepper and sweet paprika
- Mix in 2 eggs
- Add flour and stir whole mixture well.
- Prepare baking trays with baking paper.
Step 3
- Cut pastry square in half
- Place a 'sausage' quantity of mixture along the middle of each piece of pastry
- Put a little beaten egg along one side of the mixture
- Wrap the 'sausage' filling with the pastry, pressing gently together.
- Cut in half
- Place sausage rolls onto trays with the sealed edges underneath.
- Baste the rolls with beaten egg.
- Prick each roll with a fork three times and scatter sesame seeds on top.
Bake in pre-heated oven for up to 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with tomato sauce and a side salad, or just on their own.
Notes
You can continue making the sausage rolls while the first batches are cooking. Altogether I had four trays of rolls cooked in the end, which works well if you arrange them to fit.
