German-style sausage roll

Starter Picnic

Serves 6

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If you want to spot a ‘Verena recipe’, the inclusion of butter and pastry are often clues, as is the use of mustard. These are no exception: inspired by everything she associates with German sausages – the spices in bratwurst, for example, the mustard dipping sauce, the pretzels – and a celebration of all the wonderful things that can be wrapped up in all-butter puff pastry.

Getting ahead: These can be made a day ahead of baking and kept in the fridge (or further ahead, if baking from frozen).

Ingredients

¼ tsp	white peppercorns
¼ tsp	black peppercorns
1 tsp	coriander seeds
2 tsp	caraway seeds
1¼ tsp	dried marjoram (or thyme)
¾ tsp	ground ginger
1 tsp	ground mace (or nutmeg)
½ tsp	English mustard powder
50g	salted pretzels, roughly crushed
60ml	milk
1	egg, beaten, ½ tablespoon reserved for brushing
1 tbsp	olive oil
30g	unsalted butter
2	onions, chopped into roughly 1cm dice (325g)
2 tsp	dark soft brown sugar
350g	good-quality pork sausage meat (or start with pork sausages, and remove the casing)
15g	chives, finely chopped
1	pack of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry (320g)
	flour, for dusting
	salt
HONEY MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE
3 tbsp	yellow mustard (we like French’s)
1½ tbsp	mayonnaise
1 tbsp	runny honey
15g	chives, finely chopped

Method

Put the peppercorns, coriander seeds and 1 teaspoon of the caraway seeds into a medium sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Cook for 1 minute, until fragrant, then transfer to a spice grinder (or a pestle and mortar). Blitz to form a semi-fine powder, then add the remaining spices, along with the mustard powder and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
Combine the pretzels, milk and egg in a bowl and set aside to soften.
Add the oil and butter to the same sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Add the onions, along with ¼ teaspoon of salt, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often, until softened and starting to caramelise. Add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until fully caramelised. Set aside to cool.
Add the sausage meat to the bowl containing the pretzel mixture, along with the chives, spices and cooked onions. Mix well to combine.
Mix together all the ingredients for the dipping sauce and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
Unroll the puff pastry and place on a lightly floured work surface. Slice it in half, lengthways, to form two long, wide strips, about 11½cm x 38cm. Arrange half the sausage meat in a long log shape down the middle of one of the pastry strips, then lift one edge of the pastry over the meat. Brush the remaining free edge with some of the reserved egg, then lift and slightly pull it up and over the pastry, overlapping a little to ensure that it sticks. Repeat with the remaining pastry and sausage meat, then roll each log over so that the seams are both underneath. Brush all over with egg wash, sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of caraway seeds, then lightly score the top of each log, each cut about 2cm apart. Arrange the logs on a large parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 32–35 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through, until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into 12 portions. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with the dipping sauce alongside.