Sausage roll wreath recipe

This sausage roll wreath is easy to create and looks amazing. Whether you serve it at a party as part of a buffet spread or on your Christmas table as part of your festive feast, it makes a really impressive centrepiece.

Using shortcrust pastry from a packet and readymade stuffing, all you have to do is assemble the ingredients, so it's quick to pull together. You can buy sausage meat in packets, but this is also a good way to use up a spare packet of sausages. Once you've mastered the sausage roll wreath, you can use the concept in other ways too. Try swapping out the sausage meat for browned mince beef and fried onions, layered with fried, chopped mushrooms, for a fancy take on a minced beef wellington.

Ingredients

• 2 x 320g sheets ready rolled short-crust pastry
• 450g pork sausage meat
• 225g sage and onion stuffing
• 1 small egg, beaten (to glaze)
• 1tsp plain flour to dust

Method

1. Unroll one of the sheets of pastry, turn it lengthways, then add a column of the sausage meat just off centre towards the top of the sheet. Brush the bottom edge of the pastry with egg, roll from the top down, not too tightly or the pastry can tear.
2. Unroll the other sheet of pastry, turn it lengthways. Keeping very close together and very close to the bottom, cut out 9 medium holly leaves using a cutter, and roll 9 small balls to make berries. Trim all the offcuts from the bottom to neaten, so you're left with a plain rectangle again. Add a column of the stuffing just off centre towards the top of the sheet. Brush the bottom of the pastry with egg, roll from the top down.
3. Hold one end of each pastry roll together, then wrap over each other to make a plait. Join the ends together to make a wreath shape, tucking any loose ends underneath to hold in place. Brush all over with beaten egg, stick on the holly leaves and berries in three evenly spaced bunches. Make three little cuts below the bunches to let steam escape. Brush with egg and chill for at least 1 hour. Heat the oven to 170ºC/350ºF/Gas 4, and cook for 15 mins, turn the oven up to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6 and cook for 25 mins or until browned and cooked through.

Top tips for making this sausage roll wreath

To make the wreath as easy to put together as possible, keep the pastry, the room, the surface you are working on, and your own hands as cold as possible during this process. Warm pastry is much more likely to tear and is much more difficult to repair. Don't skip the chilling step after you have assembled the wreath - the pastry will cook much more evenly if properly cooled before cooking.

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