Vegan Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Sausage Rolls

Happy World Vegan Day!!!!

So, I made these the other day and I'm not kidding when I say this: they are the best sausage rolls I've ever had!! Simply delicious, and considering it's World Vegan Day I felt a party food post would be most appropriate. Seriously, if you're having a get together tonight whip a plate of these and watch them go ;-)

The idea came from a BBC Good Food recipe for "summer sausage rolls" that contained chicken, bacon, sundried tomatoes and basil. I thought they sounded nice and now that I have finally found vegan chicken style pieces I love - Fry's brand - thought I would veganize them up. I opted to omit the bacon as I didn't want faux meat overload here and the vegan bacon I buy really wouldn't process very well. I added a bit of smoked sea salt instead and also added a spring onion.

Altogether they came out beautifully, these are full of flavour and have a perfect texture. Obviously they will vary in taste and texture depending on your brand of faux chicken but I can say that these, with Fry's, are so, so good. I'll be making these quite often I'm sure, especially for get together's as they make perfect party food. As they are so full of flavour I would advise making them small like this, a full size sausage roll might be a bit much.... that being said, I ate 7 in one sitting - oooops!

Vegan Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Sausage Rolls: makes 20 mini

225g ready rolled puff pastry

100g frozen vegan chicken style pieces, I used Fry's

25g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, about 3

10 fresh basil leaves

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1 spring onion, chopped

1/8 tsp finely ground smoked sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

First you need to defrost the chicken pieces, normally you just fry them in oil from frozen. This cooks them but also gives them a crisp outside. Perfect for a stir-fry but not what you want here as you need them soft to process. So, instead of oil add a couple tablespoons of boiling water to a frying pan and turn the heat on then add the chicken pieces. Gently fry just until they are no longer frozen and have absorbed most of the water, this will make them soft and moist enough to process.

Now simply tip them and all the other ingredients in to a food processor and process until finely ground and like a paste:

You can click on the photo here to see the texture closer.

Unroll the puff pastry sheet and slice it in half lengthwise so you have two long strips. Spoon half of the filling down the centre of one of the strips and repeat with the other:

Wet the top edge with a bit of water then fold the bottom over the filling then roll up sealing the edge. Give the edge a pinch along the seam with your fingers as well:

Slice the log in about 1 inch pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper:

Brush the tops with a little dairy free milk then dip the tops into a plate of sesame seeds

Now simply pop into a preheated 180C fan oven for about 20 minutes or until golden and puffed up - make sure there is no uncooked pastry, if there is leave them in a bit longer. Let cool slightly then transfer to a plate and serve warm.

I thought these would be nice with some Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce, and while they went well together I found the rolls just have so much flavour on their own they didn't need a sauce of any kind and I ate them all as they were :-)

♥

You Might Also Like: