Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

_INGREDIENTS:

• 2 sheets ready-made puff pastry 
• 1x 425g can lentils
• 150g kumara, grated
• 100g celery, diced
• 250g leeks, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 100g apple, grated 
• ½ Tbsp thyme (fresh or dried )
• 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
• 50g walnuts 
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce 
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp oil for cooking
• 1 egg for egg wash

_GARNISH:

• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds - we used ½ black sesame seeds and ½ white

_{INSTRUCTIONS:}

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Drain and rinse the lentils, set aside.
3. Prepare the vegetables: Crush the garlic, grate the kumara and dice the celery and leeks. For this recipe, you can use the entire leek including the dark green leaves.
4. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat with oil. Add the garlic, celery, and leeks and sauté for 6-8 minutes.
5. Add the grated kumara, apple, mustard seeds, and thyme to the pan. Sauté for an additional 6-8 minutes.
6. Add the drained lentils, walnuts, and soy sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then cook for a further 3 minutes before removing from the heat.
7. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and allow to cool slightly, then blitz until combined, scraping down the sides often.
8. Divide the mixture in half.
9. Spread the first half of the sausage roll mixture across the top edge of one sheet of pastry. Roll the pastry over the sausage roll mixture. Brush the bottom edge of the pastry with egg wash before rolling, as this will help the pastry stick.
10. Repeat this process on the second sheet of pastry.
11. Cut each large roll into 5 pieces (to make 10 mini rolls in total). Beat one egg, then brush each sausage roll with egg wash. Sprinkle with white and black sesame seeds.
12. Place the sausage rolls onto a nonstick baking tray or lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Best served hot with your favorite tomato sauce!

Leftover friendly - These sausage rolls can be stored cooked or uncooked in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost and reheat in the oven to retain a crispy texture or they can be reheated in the microwave for a quick fix.