A Vegan Sauasage Roll Recipe That Is Actually Easy

This recipe from Roz Purcell's latest book is perfect for those craving some comfort food.

Being vegan isn’t always the easiest thing when stood at the Deli counter. If you don’t have time to meal prep or just fancy grabbing a bite on the go, choices are generally limited. But veganism has skyrocketed over the past few years, with about 600,000 of the Irish population now estimated to be vegan.

To celebrate that, we decided share a recipe for truly sensational vegan sausage rolls, by way of Roz Purcell.

These mouth-watering rolls are fresh, filling and packed with sweet and savoury flavours. Bonus points: they are ready to eat in less than 40 minutes, making it the perfect lunch idea for those who like spending more time eating than cooking.

VEGAN SAUSAGE ROLL RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 x tin chickpeas rinsed and drained
½ large onion peeled and grated
1 large clove of garlic crushed
½ an apple grated – skin on is fine
1 sprig rosemary leaves removed and diced discard sprig
1 sprig thyme remove leaves discard the sprig
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. tamari
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
50g pecans
50g whole almonds
1 sheet puff pastry (I got a vegan puff pastry in Tesco in the fridge section – they’re available in all supermarkets) it’s important to get puff pastry, not shortbread
Handful sesame seeds
Drizzle of oil

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Put the chickpeas in a food processor and blend until smooth(ish). There will still be some chickpeas visible and it will be a thick, lumpy paste. Spoon into a bowl.
Put the pecans and almonds in a high-speed blender (such as a NutriBullet) and mill into a chunky flour. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Toss in the onion, apple and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the herbs and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, until the onion is golden and softened. Add to the chickpeas and stir to combine.
Add the milled nuts to the chickpea mixture along with the nutritional yeast (if using), tomato purée and the tamari or soy sauce and stir again into a thick dough. It will be a little wet, but it should still be easy to roll with your hands.
Unroll the pastry sheet onto a clean board and slice it lengthways to make two long strips of pastry, stretching it just a little bit on each side using your hands. Spoon the chickpea mixture into the middle and mould it into a long sausage shape. Fold the pastry over the filling, then press the edges of the pastry with your fingers, sealing it tight. Slice into 12 mini sausage rolls.
Carefully lift the rolls onto the lined baking tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil, then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until golden around the edges.