Quick and easy cheese and onion rolls

These might be a vegetarian version of the humble sausage roll, but even meat eaters will enjoy these tasty bites! Who doesn’t love the sound of golden pastry stuffed with cheese, spring onions and breadcrumbs. It’s a simple delight.

The mix of cheese, breadcrumbs (to prevent the cheese from becoming a melted mess), cream (to bind) and spring onions, black pepper and paprika (for flavour), is spot on. Quick and easy, these cheese and onion rolls are the perfect party food. Prep them a day or two ahead, so all you have to do is pop them in the oven and serve.

Makes 20-24 depending on size.

Ingredients

• 1 x 320g puff pastry
• 200g cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 5 spring onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 egg, lightly whisked

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cheese, breadcrumbs, spring onions, cream, black pepper and paprika.
3. Roll out pastry and cut lengthways into two rectangles.
4. Divide mixture into two and place mixture in a long strip long the length of each piece of pastry (so it looks like you have one long sausage in the centre of each of the pastry lengths). Make sure mixture reaches right up to the ends, use your fingers to squash it into a ‘sausage’ shape.
5. Brush a little of the beaten egg onto the top edge of the pastry along the length. Then, starting from the bottom edge, roll pastry with the cheese mixture in the middle. Try to make sure it’s tight. The egg should help the pastry stick together when rolled. Repeat with the other length of pastry.
6. Use a fork to squash down the seam of the rolls — this helps it stick better — then turn the rolls over, so the seam is at the bottom.
7. Brush egg wash over the length of both rolls. Cut each roll into 10-12 pieces, then prick the top of each one with a fork.
8. Place the little rolls onto a large baking tray, making sure there’s room between each roll (as they will expand during cooking). Put in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. Serve warm or cold.