Veggie loaded sausage rolls

Welcome to my lunch box series -First up is my re-imaging of the classic sausage roll.

I wanted something that was vegetarian so safer to put in lunchboxes that sit around all day! It was also really important to me to pack lots of veggies in, as most kids struggled to get meet their veggie needs. Sausage rolls can be a great way to help work towards more veggies without it being too challenging for kids.

It is: vegetarian, high protein and fibre.

Allergens: wheat, dairy, soy and egg present. Can make dairy and egg free- swap egg for flax egg and use dairy free cheese. Soy sauce- swap for tamari or leave out.

INGREDIENTS:

1 zucchini finely grated- then squeeze out excess liquid

350g mushrooms

1 can of chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 cup of baby spinach

1 carrot

3 garlic cloves

1 onion finely diced

1.5 cups of bread crumbs (I popped 3 spices of bread in the food processor to make quickly)

1 egg (can swap to flax egg)

3 sheets of short crust  pastry (better than puff pastry for lunch boxes- less flakey but can use puff pastry if you want to)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast or parmesan

65g of cheddar cheese grated

1 cup puffed quinoa

2 tbs soy sauce

OPTIONAL 2 tsp of flax seeds, hemp seeds and sunflower seeds

1 tsp dried time and rosemary

WHAT TO DO

• Grate zucchini and the squeeze out excess liquid and set aside in a bowl

• Blend the mushrooms, onion, garlic, spinach and carrot in food processor- set aside in the bowl with zucchini

• Blend your drained can of chickpeas until a minced texture and also set aside (I do this separately to the other veg so I can control the texture better)

• Heat a pan on the stove with 1 tbs olive oil. Add in your veggies and chickpeas

• Cook for 5-10 minutes until softening and some the the liquid reduces

• Turn off heat and allow to cool

• Add your bread crumbs, egg, cheese and nutritional yeast in a bowl. Add in your cooked veggie mix, optional seeds soy sauce and 1 cup of puffed quinoa.  Mix and get your pastry read

• We used 3 sheets of ready made short crust pastry and cut into two ( you get 6 rectangles)
  

• Divide the filling evenly between each of the pastry rectangles, using your hands to mould a sausage shape length-ways along the middle.
  

• Brush a little beaten egg along the long edge of the pastry and then roll pastry over the filling, sealing the ends by gently pressing them together. Cut into individual portions.
  

• Brush the top of each roll and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and place them onto the prepared baking trays.
  

• Bake for around 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.

• if wanting to freeze- allow to cool first before storing.

Enjoy!