Sausage Rolls

The pub buys theirs frozen. Yours will be better. This is proper shortcrust pastry — flaky, buttery, and genuinely not difficult once you've done it once. Makes 12–16 depending on how generous you're feeling.

What you need

For the pastry

• 225g plain flour
• 175g cold unsalted butter
• Pinch of salt
• 2–3 tablespoons cold water

For the filling

• 450g sausage meat (or just squeeze it out of good sausages)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

How to make it

1. Make the pastry Tip the flour and salt into a large bowl. Take your butter straight from the fridge and grate it on the coarse side of a box grater into the flour — toss it as you go so it doesn't clump together. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time, mixing until it just comes together into a dough. Don't overwork it. Wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

What does "just comes together" mean? Stop adding water the moment it stops being crumbly and holds together when you squeeze a bit. Wet dough = tough pastry.

2. Make the filling Mix the sausage meat, onion, sage, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Use your hands — it's the easiest way.

3. Build your rolls Heat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Flour your work surface and roll the pastry into a rectangle about 3mm thick. Cut it lengthways into two long strips.

Divide your filling in two. Roll each half into a long sausage shape and lay it down the middle of each pastry strip.

Brush one long edge with beaten egg, then fold the other edge over and press firmly to seal. Run a fork along the join to crimp it.

Cut into pieces about 5–8cm long and place on your tray. Brush the tops with beaten egg.

4. Bake Into the oven for 20–25 minutes until golden brown and puffed up. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before eating.

Serve with

English mustard or a good chutney.

Good to know

• These keep in the fridge for 3 days and reheat well at 180°C for 8 minutes
• Freeze them unbaked — lay flat on a tray, freeze solid, then bag them up. Bake from frozen at 200°C for 30 minutes
• Shop-bought puff pastry works too if you want to skip the pastry making step