There is is no disputing that the finished look of these sausage rolls would be described as rustic but I’m definitely a fan!
In this recipe I’ve used shortcrust pastry with a twist- using half rye, half plain white flour. This gives the pastry a really nutty, savoury flavour and has some great benefits attached. The small downside is that there is so little gluten in rye that the pastry is very crumbly in texture. This is why you end up with that rustic finish with a few cracks here and there.
So what are the benefits of using rye?
It is one of the healthiest grains in the world. It helps fight against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure cancer inflammation and weight gain. Although not gluten free, it contains significantly less gluten than wheat and barley and has much less elasticity in it for binding. For more information on rye, check out the information page below:
https://draxe.com/rye-flour/
If you’re not so fussed about using the pastry, you can always use shortcrust or puff with the Indian spiced pork filling. For an even quicker version, buy the pastry from your pocal
supermarket! I guarantee you’ll love the flavour of the filling though so give them a try!
Indian Spiced Sausage Rolls with Rye Pastry
Makes about 16
Ingredients
For the pastry:
200g rye flour
200g plain flour
200g chilled butter, cut into cubes
Salt and pepper
1 egg
50ml cold water
For the pork sausage filling:
1 finely chopped shallot
1 tsp rapeseed oil
100g cooked green lentils (drained from a 400g can)
300g lean pork mince
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp mustard powder
Salt and Pepper
1 egg for glazing
Method
Start with the pastry:
1- Combine the flours, butter and seasoning into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. You can do this in a mixer in about 30 seconds if you have one!
2- Add the egg and most of the water and mix. The rye flour will absorb quite a lot of liquid so you may need to add more water to ensure the pastry isn’t dry.
3- Wrap in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 mins.
While the Pastry is resting, make the filling:
4- Fry the shallots in the rapeseed oil on a low heat until soft and translucent. Add the cumin and fennel seeds. Fry for 1 minute and then leave to cool.
5- Place all remaining filling ingredients into a bowl and mix with your hands. Add the spiced onions. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200*C
6- Take the pasty out of the fridge and roll out into a rectangle approximately 3mm thick. If it’s too dry and keeps splitting, sprinkle with water, recombine and roll out again.
7- Trim the edges so that she short edge is 15cm long. Keep the leftovers to repeat the process.
8- Press the meat filling into a long sausage shape along the bottom half of the pastry. Be careful not to overfill as you need to be able to fold the pastry across.
9- Brush the edge of the pastry closest to you with beaten egg and carefully fold the top half of the pastry over. The rye flour may cause the pastry to crack slightly (with it being so low in gluten)- don’t worry.
10- Use a fork to press the two edges together and seal. Glaze with the beaten egg.
11- Split into individual sausage rolls- 6-7cm wide and place on a baking tray.
12- Repeat the process with the remaining pastry and sausage mix.
13-Bake at 200*C for 15 minutes.
Serve while still warm!
These are delicious served with a beautiful salad and some chilli chutney!
