A Meatless Sausage Roll And No Tofu In Sight? You Betcha!

You know when you stumble across a recipe that is so easy, so great and so kid-friendly that you have to share it with the world?

We made these last night and they were so ridiculously easy its almost embarrassing. They're sausage rolls made without sausage mince. Or meat of any kind for that matter (and no tofu either). And not one child I've fed these to can tell the difference. I didn't hold out much hope that the end result would be edible, let alone appetizing, but I was wrong - they taste fantastic.

Cottage Rolls
Makes 24

1 cup low fat cottage cheese
3 eggs
1 onion, finely diced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup quick-cooking oats (the ones that are chopped up a bit)
3 sheets puff pastry
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp poppy or sesame seeds (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC (375ºF-ish). Line two trays with baking paper.
   
2. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, onion and soy sauce in a bowl.
   
3. Add carrot, oats and breadcrumbs (I ended up using about 1 cup of breadcrumbs total - you don't want the mixture to be too 'wet') and mix well.
   
4. Cut each pastry sheet in half to form two rectangles. Heap the mixture onto the middle of each pastry rectangle, forming into a log shape as you go. Leave a 2cm (1 inch) border of pastry all around. Brush these pastry edges with the milk. Roll up to enclose filling. Cut each log into four pieces.
   
5. Place on a lined baking tray and repeat with remaining pastry and mixture. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with poppy/sesame seeds if desired.
   
6. Bake for 35 mins or until the pastry has puffed and become golden brown. Serve with tomato ketchup for dipping.

These would be a great alternative to the usual high-fat-nutritionally-devoid fare served at children's parties. The pastry still contributes a moderate amount of fat but the payoff is that this recipe is cheap to produce, is vegetarian, and the kids won't notice they're eating something healthy! You could also add some other grated vegetables to the mixture, such as zucchini, for that added nutrient boost.

Seriously? These are awesome - my kids devoured them.