MLLA Vegan sausage rolls

 

I happily gave up most meat when I went vegetarian but not sausage rolls.  I tried a few different permutations until I discovered Liz O'Brien's recipe, thanks to Where's the Beef.  More recently Cindy and Michael have veganised their sausage rolls.  I tried their version with silken tofu and it was too soft.  It was a while ago so my vague memory is that I tried to make it gluten free as well.  Too ambitious.  I tried vegan sausage rolls again on the weekend and had a great success thanks to both tofu and chia seeds.  

I had decided to use what I had on hand rather than running out to the shops.  I loved Adam's idea of using both firm and silken tofu when making scrambled tofu.  I thought my (Blue Lotus) tofu might be soft enough to mash some and puree some.  It was all crumble.  Check out the food processor in picture below.  Not soft enough to hold my mixture together.  So I turned to my latest love - chia seeds.  I soaked them a bit and added them to the mixture.  Then I added enough water until it clumped together.

I will pause here to say that when I went vegetarian I was amazed at how much variety vegetables offered compared to meat.  Similarly, in vegan cooking I love how there is an infinite variety of alternatives to eggs and milk.  Overwhelming but so very useful.  I was pleased that, having no eggs in the house, nor silken tofu, that I could still easily find ingredients to bind the mixture.

I also loved Shauna's idea of using grated carrot in her version of these sausage rolls.  Before I discovered this combination of nuts, oats and binder to imitate meat, I always grated vegetables in my sausage rolls.  So in went a couple of old carrots.  She also added fresh herbs which I intend to try some time.

I make sausage rolls often.  It is such a brilliant recipe.  Great for entertaining.  An easy weekend meal.  Even Sylvia was nibbling on a couple.  The recipe makes far more than the three of us can eat.  Most of them are in the freezer.  You never know when you will need some.

I am sending these sausage rolls to Suma of Veggie Platter for My Legume Love Affair #40, the legume event founded by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe
This time last year: Quicklinks from my archives
This time two years ago: Chocolate cookies, bbq and mum’s sponge
This time three years ago: Jamie Oliver: the Ministry and the Risotto

Vegan sausage rolls
Makes about 55 small sausage rolls
Adapted from Where's the Beef?

Filling:
125g walnuts, finely chopped (not ground)*
2 smallish carrots, grated
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
1 onion, finely chopped*
250g medium-firm tofu, well mashed*
1 cup rolled oats
1 vegie stock cube
2 garlic cloves
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp chia seeds
ground pepper, to taste

To assemble:
4-5 frozen puff pastry sheets (~25cm square)
soy milk
sesame seeds

* I chopped these in the food processor, as advised by Cindy but I have done these by hand easily enough in the past.

Place chia seeds in 1/4 cup water and set aside while preparing other ingredients.  Combine remaining filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add the chia seed mixture.  Check the consistency and add a few tablespoons water if needed.  I added about 3-4 extra tablespoons of water.  The mixture should come together into chunks but not be too moist.  Check seasoning.

Thaw 3 to 4 sheets of ready-rolled puff pastry. Place the first sheet on a flat surface and cut it in half, into two rectangles. Spoon the filling down the centre third of each rectangle. Brush one long edge with soy milk and fold in the long edges so the one with soy milk overlaps the other edge.

Repeat with other pieces of puff pastry. Brush with soy milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place sausage rolls seam down on a greased or baking-paper lined baking tray. Use a sharp knife to slash marks across the pastry. I make 5 marks to indicate where I will cut them when they are partially cooked.  This is much easier than cutting the raw pastry and it stops the ends drying out. 

Fill all the pastry and bake sausage rolls at 220C for 20 minutes. I cut up the sausage rolls at this point. The ones that you want to eat now should be returned to the oven for an additional 10 minutes or til golden brown.

Cool any rolls that you don’t want to eat (on a wire rack). These can be frozen for later. The leftovers can go straight from the freezer into a 220 C oven to cook for 15 minutes.

Serve with tomato sauce.

On the Stereo:
So Long: Hollowmen

This post is part of Vegan Month of Food October 2011.  Go to my Vegan MoFo list for more Vegan MoFo posts.