Recipe: Festive Sausage Roll Wreath

By Neff Official Cookaholic 2016, Nicky Corbishley.

This one is sure to impress the friends and family over the festive period, a straightforward yet very flavoursome dish. Ideal as an addition to a party buffet or enjoyed as a shared starter.

Serves: 10

Preparation time:  15 minutes

Cooking time:  25 minutes

Difficulty: 2 out of 5

Method

Part 1

• Preheat the oven to CircoTherm® 200°C
• Line a large baking tray with non-stick parchment or a silicone mat
• Remove the skins from the sausages and unroll the pastry
• Slice the pastry in half lengthways so you have two long lengths
• Line up two and a half sausages along the middle of one of the lengths of pastry – You may need to stretch the sausages slightly to get right to the ends – Repeat with the other length of pastry
• Spread the cranberry sauce along the top of each long sausage
• Brush the top length of each of the two pastry pieces with egg wash and roll up the sausage rolls from the bottom, the egg should help the pastry seal
• Turn the sausage rolls over and press the seams shut using the prongs of a fork
• Place one long sausage roll onto the baking tray, seam-side-down and shape into a semi-circle
• Place the other long sausage roll into a semi-circle, lining it up so you have a sausage roll ring
• Seal the ends together using your fingers, plus a little egg wash as the ‘glue’

Part 2

• Cut into the pastry at 3cm intervals to make small sausage rolls cutting from the outside towards the middle, but don’t cut all the way through – The inside part of the pastry needs to remain intact
• Twist each of the sausage rolls 90 degrees so the sausage meat is facing upwards
• It’s easier to go round the whole wreath once to twist each sausage roll, then go round it a second time to make sure everything looks neat
• Brush all of the visible pastry with egg wash, then mix together the dijon mustard and honey
• Brush a little of this mixture on the outside edge of the pastry for each sausage roll
• Press a pinch of poppy seeds onto the outside edge of each sausage roll
• Place the wreath in the oven for 18-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown
• take out of the oven and leave to cool slightly (or cool completely if serving the sausage rolls cold)

Presentation

• Transfer to a serving plate, place a small bowl of cranberry sauce in the middle and decorate the inside of the wreath with bay leaves and fresh cranberries