Colston Bassett Stilton Sausage Rolls

Makes 8 large or 16-20 bite-sized sausage rolls

Ingredients 

500g all butter puff pastry 

1 egg, beaten for egg wash 

400g sausage meat (about 6 sausages) 

2 tsps. fresh sage, chopped 

30g breadcrumbs 

1 onion, finely diced 

25g butter 

75g Colston Bassett Stilton, crumbled 

Polenta, for dusting 

Method 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Heat the butter in a pan and add the onion. Cook gently for about 20 minutes until soft and golden brown. Add the sage leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more and then allow to cool. 

Using scissors or a sharp knife, slit the skins of the sausages and pop the meat out. Put it in a mixing bowl with the cooled sage and onion mix, the crumbled Colston Bassett Stilton and the breadcrumbs. With clean hands, scrunch the mix together. 

On a floured work surface, roll the pastry out into a big rectangle as thick as a pound coin and cut it lengthways into two long, even rectangles. Roll the mixture into a long, fat sausage shape with your hands and lay along the lefthand side of each rectangle. 

Egg-wash along the two long sides of your pastry rectangles, then fold the pastry over, wrapping the filling inside. Press down with your fingers or crimp with a fork to seal the join. 

Line your baking tray with parchment and sprinkle over polenta. The polenta absorbs the fat and moisture while the pastry cooks, ensuring the sausage rolls have a crispy base.  

Using a small sharp serrated knife, cut the long rolls into the sizes you want and space them out on a baking tray. Brush with the rest of the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through. Cool on a wire rack, then serve with mustard or piccalilli and a cress salad.