I have an excellent memory. Well I should clarify, I have an excellent memory for food. Names and so called “important things” …well unfortunately not. Last week I was in New Zealand and I had met so many people and animals (with human names) that when someone asked me about “Tom” I said in a confused manner, “Who was Tom again?”. Turns out Tom was a sheep…Oh dear!
When my family and I discuss various events it’s always with the prompt “Don’t you remember? That’s when we ate the chicken dish that we all really liked.” One of us would say “Who else was there?” and inevitably we’d scratch our heads and wonder who our fellow company was, at a complete loss. However we all knew that the chicken dish was there as company.
When we were small my mother took my sister and I into the city to get our passports to travel overseas. As such we had to behave and not act up. As a reward, and she knew the only kind of reward we were really interested in was food, we would get a sausage sandwich. Our eyes widened. We had never tried one before. Sure we had had hot dogs and sausage rolls (my tuck shop item of choice) but not a grilled sausage sandwich. When she handed me the soft bun with the sausage and onions I melted. The city around me ceased to exist as I ate the sausage and the bun stopping halfway worried that it would be another nine years until I tried another one. It must have taken me about 10 minutes to eat it and my mother didn’t lose patience with us. You see she was also enjoying it too having not had many of these. You’d think we were very sheltered to these things and I suppose we were!
I did go off sausages in my 20s proclaiming them too fatty but when I worked in advertising we would often have networking events after work. I recall trying my first chorizo sausage there. It was on a platter of food and came with a tomato based sauce and toothpicks. Our team of four was a food loving one and we had already ascertained the best place at which to stand (right next to the kitchen to get first dibs on food). They brought it round and I let is pass. I mean who wanted a big chunk of sausage with scarlet oil dripping from it? How utterly fattening (and you can see how I’ve now diverged from that thinking!). My colleague popped a morsel of chorizo in his mouth and quickly called the waitress back. “Have one of these” he said and I tried one. It was spicy, garlicky and full of delicious smoky pork. I was smitten and we speared a few others until a woman with a crazy hairdo took the rest of the platter (lady, see the line? It’s back over there).
We probably eat a bit more chorizo than we should and I thought of how this might go in a sausage roll instead of having a regular sausage inside it. I decided to give it a go using some fresh chorizo sausages I was sent from Beak’s. These chorizo sausages are actually made of beef which I’m sure would be considered sacrilege to chorizo purists although they have a very high percentage of meat which is good. But it is not pork whereas I think they’d be even better done with pork and do experiment with other types of chorizo.
I enjoyed these smoky, buttery pastries more than someone that was on a healthy eating regime should have-or perhaps was that because of the healthy eating regime? The garlic, onion and smoky sausage gave the humble sausage roll a modern facelift.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you have a good memory for things? Can you remember faces or names well or just food like me?
Chorizo Sausage Rolls
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
- 2/3 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 400g/14ozs chorizo sausage
- 1 small onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 egg
- 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk for eggwash
- 1 tablespoon poppy or sesame seeds
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
1. Place the pieces of bread and the milk in a bowl to soak. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200C/400F. In a food processor process the onion and garlic until finely chopped. Then add the first egg and remove the casings from the sausages and discard them and add the meat from the sausages to the processor along with the milky bread. Process until smooth. Chill for 10 minutes.
Yes, you have a dirty mind…
2. Take the puff pastry squares and cut them lengthways to make two rectangles. Divide the mixture into four and roll them into a sausage between wet hands and place in the centre of each rectangle. With a brush, brush a little eggwash onto the pastry and seal the sides overlapping them slightly. Repeat with the remainder of the filling and refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
3. Once ready, brush with more egg wash and sprinkle with poppyseeds. Slice into small rectangles and bake for 20 -25 minutes until golden.
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75 Comments | Add your own
Scrumptious! Chorizo sausages are delicious.
Cheers,
Rosa
Aw, I love that memory! And these look SO amazing — can’t wait to try them!!
Absolutely brilliant idea. Now I feel like one.
my memory for food is excellent..i never forget to eat! pity because i have a seriously unattractive case of middle age spread..and that’s not a new product in the dairy aisle at the supermarket..
and next time i make sausage rolls i won’t forget this recipe..:)
These look delicious, my boys birthday is coming up. I’ll have to try these out at the party!:-)
what a lovely take on an ol’ favourite
I love chorizo and never thought of making sausage rolls with it. Great idea for our next party
they look so dainty and pretty!
Yum, I love sausage rolls and I love chorizo – I know what I’ll be making soon! I’m very good with names and faces.
I make something like this all the time for picnics and finger foods. They are so great! I am terrible with names, but good food I always remember.
I and my family adore sausage rolls, to the extent that I have a piping bag devoted to extruding the meat mix onto the puff pastry.
It does make things so much easier if you are making volumes of sausage rolls.
Some high points include pork and apple, Moroccan lamb with dates and pork and fennel.
As for remembering people’s names, I just call everybody ‘honey’, seems to work mostly . . .
I am hopeless with names, but remind me what we ate and I will remember.
LOL – it’s great as children when we try things for the first time. These sausage rolls look delicious.
Oh, what a lovely way to make the (almost perfect, anyway) sausage roll a bit more grown-up. There go my hips.
These look great! I have always associated poppy seeds with sweet dishes, but now you are using them in this savory one, and I can see how poppy seeds would be good in a roll like this.
Chorizo Sausage Rolls? Whoever came up with that idea is a genius! My boyfriend LOVES chorizo and so these are def on my to make list
I have a freakishly good memory regarding birthdays. No idea why I remember dates but that’s my thing. I’m generally good with faces as well, but names I have a problem with. Haha.
Yum! I love the look of these, and the poppy seeds on top are just perfect. I have a great memory for faces, but not always names, which gets me in trouble when I call people over, then can’t remember who they are!
Oh yum! I could eat sausage rolls every day if my waistline wouldn’t punish me for it.
I’m pretty good at remembering faces but bad with names. Food on the other hand… yes I can remember an event by the food a lot better than by anything else.
OMG I heart chorizos :> thanks for sharing this recipe Lorraine, these heavenly morsels will sure be a crowd pleaser at parties!
Not a big fan of your standard sausage roll but this sounds great. Who can resist chorizo?
What a great idea! I love chorizo, but never thought to make this. In Mexico we have a green chorizo as well (chiles and herbs) that would look great mixed in with the red for Christmas. I will definitely make these! Thanks so much.
It’s like you’ve taken my two favourite things and combined them into one SUPER FAVOURITE THING! It’s like… you’ve wrapped a kitten in rainbows and glitter, and made it poop out lollipops. THIS LOOKS SO GOOOOOOOD
wow these look amazing. I happen to have some chorizo sausage in my fridge so may give this a go. I have a pretty good memory for food too
Awww Lizzi, I love your kittens and lollipop analogy… like most of your readers, am good with faces but names are a little harder (unless its an unusual one.) I understand you’re fondness for sausages, mine was the treat of a dagwood dog at the Royal Adealaide Show each year … who could resist the sausage encased in wonderfully crunchy dough topped with tangy tomato sauce… pure bliss for an 8 year old…
Well, I love chorizo but walking past a mirror and taking a look kind’of tells me not to learn your appealing recipe off by heart
! Remember what I ate where decades later; remember how people looked and what they said, but practical things like phone numbers, names, addresses and birthdays need an awfully detailed filing system 
!
Oh NQN these look great!
I love that they are beef too because I choose not to eat pork (have you read Animal Farm?) products I miss out on lots of yummy things which are sadly made from pigs, but beef chorizos would fill a void! I also use kangaroo proscuitto.
I have an excellent memory for food and a poor memory for peoples names, and sometimes even forget the point of the story I’ve got half way through telling! When I went to boarding school in NZ I could never remember the things I was supposed to, like making my bed but I could tell you exactly when we were last served a particular dish. I guess I had my priorities straight!
LOL Lorraine love the story of the crazy hairdo lady (back of the line!) These look delish – my dad makes super sausage rolls but these might be even better
yes – like you my fondest memories are of food…other details seem to fade into the background…do you think we remember tastes and smells because they’re so VISCERAL? like my country childhood memories of sweet warm peaches picked straight from the tree, the juice running down my chin…mmmmm 
Classy sausage rolls! Your posts always make me hungry! (Sausage rolls are as bad as pies, please don’t mention it, please don’t mention it, you know what will happen if you do…oh shoot, too late..)
How have I never thought of this before!? That is pure genius! I love Chorizo so much, in fact it’s the only sausage I enjoy (and I’m half German, ridiculous, right!?). I’m terrible with names, also, but I’ll always remember a face!.. And yes, food as well
Lol at the chicken story! Sounds like us too! We invariably end up talking about food!
I love sausage rolls, but I’m sure I’d eat the whole batch! Not a good idea…
What a great story! Food makes great memories- whether good or bad!
My parents don’t eat pork, so this would be breat to make for them thanks
I remember food over faces too, it’s so much more interesting
I am soo making these. Chorizo sausages are the best.
Hah, I’m with you on the names thing – I’m terrible at it! I do have a very good recall for faces though – but I spend far too much time trying to work out where I know the person from. Foods however, I remember them vividly!
Here’s another trick that works with any sausage roll: Put one in a hotdog roll with tomato sauce and melted tasty cheese!
It sounds gross, but I was eventually convinced to try it and it’s delicious!
Yep, me too! I can remember events due to the food I ate there and my children are becoming just like me. “You remember, Mum, that was where we had the…!”
Chorizo sausage rolls! I’ll remember that!
Yum! And easy too. Love this kinda sausage roll – using whole chipolatas makes it easier yet!
These sausage rolls totally remind me of the ones you and I shared from Zumbo in Manly! Remember? they were pretty damn good, and they didn’t even have chorizo in them!!
Now this, my dear, is something I should definitely make for the non-sweet tooths in my life
I’m alright with names and faces but sometimes I’m afraid that they won’t remember me and it’ll be weird if I greet them by name haha..
Love chorizo, love this recipe!
I have been thinking about doing some of these as well…great minds think alike hey? They sound delish!
these look delicious – when i originally saw the heading, i was thinking of normal sausage rolls with chunks of chorizo through the mixture.
(you should try “coat of arms” chorizo from the venison farm down at margaret river!)
i have a great memory for food, and like you will remember events because of the dishes served
i also remember faces…but often not names or where the face is from. this often leads to me laying awake til the wee hours trying to figure it out! thanks goodness i usually do 
For the first time EVER I have skipped your wonderful post and went straight to the recipe.
Ordering the ingredients online RIGHT NOW OMG WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS?!?!
I’m hopeless at remembering names but what is worse is my sense of direction. I will always turn right when it should be left etc – unless there is a restaurant, deli or bakery on the way. Then I have no problem, it’ll be straight there with a possible short cut too. GG
Yes I love chorizo too. It just seems to go with everything.
I just saw similar post earlier where she put ground beef in phyllo and baked it. Your presentation is so beautiful. I like working with puff pastry sheet so I am keeping this one for future. Thanks for sharing. I need a red plate like yours.. it’s really pretty presentation!
In my circle of friends I am known to have a really good memory. They tease me for remembering the weirdest details, snippets of conversation and so on. The truth is I have a selective memory and tend to remember the things I am interested in. In our family, conversations like the ones in yours, are very common. Our memories always revolve around food and it is much more likely for us to remember a dish than the person who was with us at the time. Love chorizo, this is the perfect way to enjoy it.
Now this is a truly gorgeous, grown-up take on a tuck-shop classic!
hehe it’s good to know you were easily bribed by food since you were young! I luuurve the touch of seeds on the top.
yummo i love chorizo and aren’t food memories just great *sigh*
These look fantastic and I don’t even eat pig!
oh your sausage rolls look pretty – maybe I should spice up my usual veg ones for a change
As for your story about it being such a treat to have sausage sandwich, I can see why – love them (even though they are veg these days) but was pleased to see how sylvia scoffed a sausage in bread on the weekend because it just seems the right way to eat them
They look and sound extremely tasty – and sinful.
My food memory is wonderful but my regular memory is terrible. I’ve resorted to keeping notes on my phone to remember the ballet class mums names.
I would be helpless in the face of these sausage rolls! They look amazing. I remember 2 things: food and animal names! My hubs and I relate all experiences to what we were eating, and I will never remember your name, only your dog’s. It’s true.
Lorraine, in my 20′s, I went off of red meat, and for a few years in my 30′s off ALL meat. How crazy was that. I saw sausage as the enemy? Ask me now how I feel. Can you ship me one of those sausage rolls for lunch today?
Oooh, Lorraine, you are a naughty influence in the best kind of way!
This would be a huge hit in my house…fingers crossed that I can find halal chorizo in my area!
Now THAT’s a sausage roll
These sausage rolls look so good! I always like standing in front of the kitchen at stand up parties too, it’s always the food that’s remembered!
Sausage rolls are so yummy, what a great recipe!
I have a great memory, but names I do struggle with! I have been meaning to make homemade sausage rolls for ages!
Heidi xo
Mym memory for names it shocking lol. Although, I see a chef on tv and can remember it instantly
lol
Love poppy or sesame on my sausage rolls. These look so great Lorraine
Hmm those sausage rolls look divine! I’d never thought of using actual sausages for sausage rolls, we usually get the sausage mince and beef mince to put in ours, but I’m definitely going to try this. Yum!
I have to admit, first, the rolls are wonderful, second, I have a dirty mind (sorry) and third, I’m not so good with faces and names, I mean, I’m not good matching a face with it’s name…and now that my kids are at school I also have to match a kid, a name and a mom…
It should be my sister and me, not I.
Love these Lorraine! I’m always looking for new poppy seed recipes
i used to be so good at remembering names and faces, but each year, i get worse and worse at it and forget the ones i’ve already learned. it’s disturbing.
meanwhile, i love these–flaky pastry AND juicy sausage is a winning combination every time.
Do I have to say it? Of course I remember the food the best. But I usually have a great memory for faces and names… but less for places. Unless food related. Love these sausage rolls and I’ve been in the mood to make puff pastry and use it for savory bites. These will surely be on the list.
nice, quick and super easy!
There is no such thing as too much chorizo. These look really good as one more way to eat chorizo.
For the non-meat eaters, in the US, we can get Soyrizo. Yep, as you guessed, its made of soy. Its not quite the same thing, but it is slightly better for you than pork. I’ll switch to it when my heart reminds me to go easier on the fat.
Love chorizos and with the flaky puff pastry, its heavenly!
I use to run a restaurant and customers would come to the kitchen to say hello and thank me for the wonderful food and its embarassing that I can’t remember their names and faces. So, when they left I would turned to my wife and asked who’s that? Never good at remembering faces and names but my wife do have a fantastic memory for faces and names even when the customers come back after couple of years.
mmm I make a mean sausage roll, so I’ve been told. I will be using this recipe next time.
I always forget faces, even if I have seen them a few times. It is really embarrassing sometimes and I can never follow a movie because as soon as an actor changes their clothes or takes off their hat or sunglasses, I don’t know who they are, when they re-appear in another scene!!!
We eat more chorizo than is good for us, too. I absolutely love it! And I am a huge sausage roll fan, so this recipe is a must-try for me
My starting point for memories is always what food I had. Whenever we go to a restaurant I can always remember what everyone had last time we went there!
Yum! I’ve been buying these sausages for bbqing and they’re quite nice.
If I find a good pork chorizo though, I will definitely try this.
I always have some chorizo in my fridge for times of need (translated as: times I am too lazy to leave the house even though the grocery store is only 5 minutes away). I use it in so many things, not tried it in sausage rolls before but now I will.
I made these for my sisters baby shower and they were a massive hit! Everyone asked for the recipe so I just sent round the link to your blog!
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