MAKES: 6 PLAITS OR 30-40 MINI ROLLS
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES, PLUS
2 HOURS CHILLING
COOKING TIME: 25-30 MINUTES
FOR THE PLAITS, 15-20 MINUTES
FOR MINI ROLLS
YOU WILL NEED
For the pastry
315g (11oz) plain flour, more for
dusting and rolling out
185g (61/2oz) cold unsalted butter, cubed
45g (11/2oz) cold vegetable shortening (such as Trex)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white or red wine vinegar
60ml (2fl oz) ice-cold water (only use as much as needed)
For the filling
6-8 good quality sausages 6-8 tbsp caramelised onion chutney (or you can experiment with other chutneys)
Plus
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten for egg wash
2-3 tbsp nigella seeds or sesame seeds to sprinkle
mustard and ketchup, to serve (optional)
1Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. If you have time, place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
2Add the cubed butter and shortening and pulse briefly until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Don’t overdo it though - you still need some pieces of butter the size of small peas.
3Mix the water and vinegar together, then add it very gradually through the feeding tube while pulsing in short bursts until the dough forms clumps - you may not need to use all the water.
4Place a large piece of clingfilm on your worktop and tip the dough onto it. Pat the dough into a rectangle shape, then wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
5Dust a clean worktop with a little flour and roll the dough out to a long rectangle. Take one-third of the pastry and fold towards the middle, then fold the remaining third over the top to make three layers.
6Repeat the rolling out and folding once more until the dough is elastic. Fold into thirds again, then wrap in clingfilm and chill for another hour, or overnight, before using. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7. Line two trays with baking paper.
7Carefully remove the skin from the sausages and set aside.
8Cut the pastry in three pieces, keeping the pieces you are not using covered and in the fridge - especially if it’s hot outside! Roll the pastry out to a rectangle 15x30cm (6x12in) and roughly the thickness of a pound coin. Place a scant amount of the onion chutney in the centre of the pastry, then position two sausages over the chutney and cut the rectangle in half.
9To create the sausage plaits, cut strips on the diagonal either side of the filling. Moisten the edges with a little egg wash. Fold the strips alternately towards the middle to create the plait. Lightly brush with egg wash and sprinkle with the nigella seeds.
10Place on the prepared baking tray and repeat with the remaining pastry. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and bake the plaits, in batches if necessary, for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Serve with mustard and ketchup as dipping sauces, if you like.
11To create sausage rolls, follow the method up to step 9. Moisten the left edge of the pastry with a little egg wash. Starting from the right, fold the pastry over the sausage and then over again to encase the fillings. Press the edge to seal.
12Put in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes, then carefully cut into smaller rolls. Brush with the egg white and sprinkle with seeds. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15-20 minutes.