LEEK AND CHEDDAR SAUSAGE ROLLS

My father, Prue’s brother James, makes the best Glamorgan sausages (traditional Welsh cheese and leek sausages), and he did so in industrial quantities when I was a child, so he could pull them out of the freezer at a moment’s notice to feed his vegetarian brood.

He made them by eye, so this is not an exact replica of his recipe. Wrapped in flaky, buttery puff pastry, they’re delicious.

Makes 8 l 1 large leek, trimmed, washed and

chopped l 115g (4oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated l 140g (5oz) fresh breadcrumbs l A good handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely

chopped l 1 large egg, beaten, plus 1 large beaten egg yolk l 40ml (1½fl oz) whole milk l Salt and freshly ground black pepper l 250g (9oz) all-butter puff pastry

Preheat the oven to 210°C/fan 190°C/gas 6. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. In a large bowl, mix the leek, cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, whole beaten egg and milk.

Season. The mixture should be damp enough to just hold its shape when squeezed together.

Roll the pastry out away from you to a 40cm x 30cm rectangle, with a short edge nearest to you. Split the filling in half and spoon each half down a side of the two long edges of the pastry, packing the mixture tightly with your fingers to shape it into two long sausages. Brush the pastry between the ‘sausages’ with some of the beaten yolk. Roll the pastry in from the outer edges, so that you end up with the two rolls encased in pastry, sitting next to each other. Use a knife to cut the pastry down the middle, dividing the two rolls.

Press along the seam of each and use a fork to mark along it. Put the rolls on the lined sheet, then brush all over with egg yolk. Use a sharp knife to cut diagonal slashes into the tops at regular intervals. If you want to freeze them, do that now.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed up and golden. Check they are cooked on the undersides and cook for a little longer if necessary. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold, each cut into four pieces to give you eight large rolls.