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Veggie-packed sausage rolls from Cornersmith

Veggie-packed sausage rolls from Cornersmith

This is so much more than a recipe for sausage rolls that will blow your tastebuds.

The gems behind Sydney cafe Cornersmith have a new cookbook out and it’s a ‘do not miss’ for the shelf! Use It All: The Cornersmith guide to a more sustainable kitchen shows us how to reduce waste (and save money) while eating ethically and healthfully.

I’ve been concerned about the amount of waste going into our ‘red bin’ each week, and this new book from Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards has given me practical, achievable ways to cut down on our plastic and food waste. The book is laid out in seasonal ‘shopping baskets’ with delicious recipes and ‘leftovers’ ideas for each basket. It’s a really simple way to plan your meals each week.

Shopping Basket from Use It All by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards

Beautiful and practical

Like everything else this amazing duo do, it’s also a good looking, aspirational handbook on how to live a kinder, more purposeful life. I just love it!

We’ve been lucky enough to score a couple of recipes from the book. First up, these delicious sausage rolls you can make from scratch. They are literally packed with veggies (the kind of veggies that lurk in the crisper, getting more and more wilted while you try to figure out what to do with them until, oh dear, too late…).

Sausage rolls recipe from Use It All by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards

The authors say the recipe will take you five minutes (see their commentary below), but I found that 15 was truer for a starter like me. What they were absolutely correct about was how super-tasty these sausage rolls are. They are truly the best I’ve ever eaten (sorry Mum!), and my kids agreed.

By the way, making your own pastry for these sausage rolls is a commitment that’s worth it – it will only take you five minutes plus extra time for the whole food-processor-washing-up-thing. That said, I won’t tell anyone if you buy in some puff pastry to wrap these babies in.  Food processor washing up is the worst.

Sausage rolls

Don't miss this sausage rolls recipe that's full of veggies and so easy to make

Recipe, image and words from Use It All by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards

Makes 15 party-sized sausage rolls
Takes 15 minutes plus resting time
Bakes 30 minutes

Good old sausage rolls are still favourites in school canteens and at sporting events, but the ingredients lists for some supermarket sausage rolls are alarming. This recipe is easy to make and contains 50 per cent vegetables. It maintains that sausage-roll flavour, but with far less meat, salt and fat.

For this recipe, we use a basic homemade pastry; it honestly takes five minutes to make and while it does need to rest for 30 minutes, you can use this time to make the mix and preheat the oven. We still buy premade pastry when we’re pushed for time (the same goes for wonton wrappers and pizza bases). When you do buy store-bought pastry, look for brands that contain the least amount of ingredients, choose butter over margarine and avoid palm oil.

200 g sausages
200 g grated vegetables
cabbage
cauliflower
zucchini (squeezed dry)
carrot
celery
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
2–4 tablespoons chopped herbs
parsley
thyme
coriander (cilantro)
oregano
1 garlic clove, minced (use 2–3 cloves if using plain sausages)
1 tablespoon tomato sauce or Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, plus a little beaten egg or milk for brushing
Sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Basic pastry

345 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ teaspoon sea salt
250 g cold unsalted butter, diced
½ cup iced water

To make the pastry, place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the motor running, slowly pour in the iced water and pulse until the mixture forms a ball.

Turn the dough ball out onto a floured workbench and lightly knead. Flatten the dough into a disc, then wrap and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4).

Squeeze the mince from the sausage casings into a bowl, add the grated vegetables, breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic, tomato or Worcestershire sauce and egg and combine well. If you want to check the seasoning, make a little meatball and fry it in a frying pan, then taste and adjust the flavours where needed.

Roll out your pastry on a floured workbench to 30 cm x 40 cm.

Cut the pastry into two 15 cm x 40 cm rectangles. Form the sausage mixture into two long logs and place them down the centre of each strip of pastry. Fold the pastry over to seal and create long sausage rolls.

Brush each sausage roll log with egg wash or a little milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cut the logs into 7–10 cm sausage rolls and bake for a good 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip

The sausage roll mixture can also be used to make meatballs. After you’ve combined the ingredients, roll the mixture into balls and either fry or bake until golden brown. We serve these with flatbreads and a tangy cabbage, carrot and apple slaw.

Use It All

Images and text from Use It All by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards, photography by Cath Muscat. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.