This is far easier and quicker than it looks, and the festive pull-apart wreath always goes down a storm, as sausage rolls always do. It can also be served with a salad for a lovely lunch or supper.
MAKES 18-20 ROLLS
◆ 500g good quality sausagemeat
◆ 1 tsp fennel seeds, ground
◆ ½ tsp ground mace plus a generous grating of nutmeg
◆ 320g chilled puff pastry sheet
◆ Plain flour, for dusting
◆ 1 egg, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt, for the egg wash
◆ Dijon mustard, for spreading
TOPPING SUGGESTIONS
◆ A sprinkling of nigella or onion seeds, pink peppercorns (roughly crushed), dried chilli flakes or sea salt flakes
FOR THE SRIRACHA MAYO
◆ 6 tbsp mayonnaise
◆ 1 tbsp sriracha sauce, or to taste
GET AHEAD
◆ Complete to the end of step five up to three days in advance (but omit the salt flakes until just before baking), then cover and chill. Bake as normal. It can be frozen for up to two months. Cook from frozen at the same oven temperature but for about ten minutes longer.
◆ Make the sriracha mayo up to three days ahead, cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Line a baking sheet, at least 32cm wide, with baking paper or a silicone mat.
2. Mix the sausagemeat and ground spices together and set aside.
3. Unwrap the pastry (keep the paper for future use) and roll it out further on a lightly floured worktop into a 45cm x 30cm rectangle. With the rectangle in a landscape position, brush a 2.5cm margin of egg wash along the top of the long edge (furthest from you), then thinly spread the remainder of the pastry with Dijon mustard.
4. Form the sausagemeat into a long, even cylinder the length of the pastry and place it a third of the way up from the bottom – this is most easily done by rolling the meat in sections, then joining them up on the pastry. Fold the unglazed bottom section of pastry over the sausagemeat, then continue to roll it up as far as the glazed edge, leaving the seam underneath. Shape to form into an even-sized roll, if necessary. Trim the floppy ends, transfer to the baking sheet, seam-side down, and curl into a wreath shape – it should be about 22cm in diameter. Stick the ends together with some egg wash.
5. Cut the wreath into sausage rolls about 3cm wide (without slicing right through the pastry at the bottom), then from the centre of the wreath push the rolls out to split them up a little. The wreath will become bigger, around 27cm-28cm. Working clockwise, twist each roll slightly until the sausagemeat is showing, being careful to keep the wreath intact without tearing. Brush the pastry with egg wash and scatter with any or all of my topping suggestions – I usually go for the lot!
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is cooked through (cover loosely with foil if it is browning too fast after 15 minutes). 7. Meanwhile, make the sriracha mayo by combining the mayonnaise and sriracha sauce in a small serving bowl, then set aside.
8. Transfer the wreath, on or off its paper, to a round platter and serve with the bowl of sriracha mayo in the middle. The wreath will happily keep warm for 30 minutes or more.
