Homemade sausage rolls with crunchy salad

• 8Pork sausages
• 1Brown onion
• 1 tspDried thyme
• 1 sheetReady-rolled puff pastry
• 1 tbspDijon mustard
• 1Egg
• 2Carrots
• 1Cucumber
• 3 tbspOlive oil
• 1 tbspRed wine vinegar
• 2Little gem lettuces, add on the day

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan) and line a baking tray. Finely grate the onion and squeeze out the juice with your hands. Slit the sausage skins, squeeze the meat into a bowl and mix with the onion, thyme and plenty of pepper.

2. 2

   Unroll the pastry and cut it in half lengthways. Brush a thin stripe of dijon down the middle of each strip, using 2 tsp in all, and lay half the sausagemeat along each in a neat log.

3. 3

   Beat the egg. Brush one long edge of each strip with egg, fold the pastry over the filling and press the edges together with a fork to seal.

4. 4

   Cut each log into 6, put them seam-side down on the tray, brush with egg and snip two small slashes in each top.

5. 5

   Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and deep golden and the sausagemeat is cooked through with no pink.

   30 min, mostly hands-off

6. 6

   Meanwhile, peel the carrots into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and slice it. Shake the oil, vinegar, the rest of the dijon and a pinch of salt together in a jam jar.

7. 7

   Cool the sausage rolls on a rack, then pack into tubs. Pack the carrot and cucumber separately with the dressing in a small pot, and keep the little gems whole for the day.

   15 min, mostly hands-off