Caramelised Onion Sausage Rolls

Place the butter in the freezer.

Measure the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Take the butter out of the freezer, dip it into the flour, then coarsely grate it (using the 0.5cm cheddar holes) into the bowl. As you grate, dip the butter back into the flour and occasionally stir the bowl of grated butter and flour with a knife.

Add most of the water and bring together a smooth ball of dough. If it does not easily come together into a dough add a few more drops of water.

Cover the dough and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Finely dice the onion and place into a frying pan with the olive oil on a low heat.

Remain on a low heat, stirring occasionally and allow the onions to break down. This will take around 40 minutes.

Once the onions are a deep brown colour and smell sweet, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Mix the sausage meat with the cold caramelised onions then divide it in half.

Rub some oil around the inside of 2 x large baking trays or insert a baking liner.

Dust the work surface and dough lightly with flour, cut the dough in half and roll both pieces into a 23x33cm/9×13” inch rectangle.

Crack the egg into a mug and mix together. Using a pastry brush, paint a 3cm/1¼” inch column of egg lengthways down the middle of each rectangle and all around the edges. The egg will seal the two layers of pastry together later.

Take half the sausage meat and form two long sausage shapes between the egg columns on one sheet of pastry. Use the remaining sausage meat and create long sausage shapes between the egg on the second piece of pastry.

Using a knife to support the pastry and one at a time, gently lift an outer pastry edge over the sausage meat to reach the pastry in the middle. Repeat lifting the remaining outer edges over the sausage meat.

Slice down the middle between the two lines of sausage meat.

Using your fingers or tines of a fork press the pastry edges together.

Paint the remaining beaten egg over the sausage roll.

Using a sharp knife cut the sausage roll into 3cm/1¼” inch lengths.

Quickly prick the top of each sausage rolls with a fork, transfer them to the prepared baking trays and chill for 10 minutes. At this stage you can freeze your sausage rolls if you don’t wish to bake them all now. (Open freeze on a tray 12 hours then bag, label and freeze for up to a month)

Preheat the oven.

Bake chilled sausage rolls until golden, about 20-25 minutes. To cook from frozen bake for 40 minutes.

To re-heat cooked sausage rolls, bake in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.