Lamb, Harissa and Almond Sausage Rolls
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 sausage rolls
- ¼cup whole blanched almonds
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1small yellow, red or white onion, diced
- ⅓cup diced roasted red peppers (from a jar, or roasted over the flames of a gas stove)
- 1tablespoon harissa paste
- 1½teaspoon kosher salt
- 1pound ground lamb (or beef, dark meat turkey or plant-based meat)
- ¼cup uncooked couscous
- ⅓cup currants
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1(14- to 16-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold
- 1egg, beaten, for egg wash
- Poppy seeds, for sprinkling (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1097 calories; 76 grams fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 40 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 71 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 32 grams protein; 726 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2
Place almonds on baking sheet and roast until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Pour almonds onto a cutting board to cool slightly. (Reserve baking sheet and parchment.) Coarsely chop almonds and place in large mixing bowl. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Step 3
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add roasted red peppers, harissa and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to the bowl with the almonds and let cool.
- Step 4
Add ground lamb, couscous, currants, pepper and the remaining salt to almonds. Using your hands, mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Step 5
Roll the chilled puff pastry dough to about ⅛-inch thick. Cut pastry into 4 equal rectangles. In the center of each pastry, dollop a quarter of the lamb mixture, then form it into a long sausage running lengthwise on the pastry strip. Lightly brush one long edge of the pastry with egg wash. Starting with the side without the egg wash, firmly fold the pastry over the meat filling to form long rolls, pinching to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet, seam-sides down.
- Step 6
Lightly brush the top of each roll with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds, if using. Bake until sausage rolls are golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Anne
Any advice on how best to freeze these? Baked or unbaked? Time for heating from frozen? These would be wonderful comfort food to keep in the freezer for the cold pandemic days this winter!
Gabriela
Hi, we make sausage rolls a lot in our household. It’s one of the few things that my youngest daughter will actually make. And she does it well. So, we freeze them cooked, so she can have them as snacks after Uni. She just zaps them, because she doesn’t mind them soggy. But you can par zap and then put them under the grill until they’re crisp again - a minute or two. To freeze - we just put them as individual portions for her - in lunch size snap locks.
Craig
@ Anne I have not made this recipe yet, but had to learn how to make sausage rolls after moving to Switzerland. I freeze mine unbaked with wax paper separating the layers, otherwise the pastry sticks together and becomes a gooey mess. When ready defrost for 1 hour, eggwash and bake for 20 minutes, sheer bliss.
Michael
In Australia they are stored cooked in the freezer, We can buy them at any supermarket. Delicious if reheated in an oven. Soggy and unappetising if microwaved.
Barbra W
Made these last night with a mixture of ground beef & ground lamb. Delicious! I could barely taste the harissa though - if you're a fan of spicy food I'd suggest adding more. My husband was a little afraid they'd be dry so he threw together a harissa/yogurt dip. It was nice with it, but they weren't dry in the least. Will definitely make again.
KWH
Delicious both for dinner and lunch the next day. Based on the size of the puff pastry sheets and the amount of filling in each roll, these rolls turn out pretty big. Next time, I might make 8 rolls instead of 4.
Susan
Small couscous or Israeli couscous?
Aidan
These freeze quite well. Follow the directions as written, stopping just before popping in the oven. Instead, pop the tray into the freezer for three or four hours. When the rolls have frozen solid, move them to a zip-top freezer bag. To use, although people won’t like hearing this, you can’t just pop them in the oven right from the freezer. You must defrost completely IN THE FRIDGE, wrapped in plastic or in the bag. Trust me. I learned the hard way.
Natashka
Actually, you can bake them, cool them and then freeze them. Then, at your leisure, you can bake them from frozen, about 350 degrees for 15 minutes, wrapped in foil. They turn out beautifully.
Kathrine E
Is there enough moisture in the sausage to hydrate the uncooked couscous?
Barbra W
Yes - it cooked completely, to the point that I could barely tell it was there.
Elle
Use little couscous so it can cook in the juices. Israeli is too dense for this recipe.
Elle
Made almost exactly as directed with one roll of TJs puff pastry which was enough. Added 1/4 c. quinoa by accident instead of couscous and it was great! I also added 1 tsp of Spice House Moroccan seasoning which compliments the lamb beautifully. I formed two meat logs. Chilling them before wrapping in the pastry made it easier and chilling the filled rolls before baking made cutting into the desired number of pieces easier too. Will make again!
KWH
I wouldn't. The couscous comes out completely cooked by the liquid in the veg and/or the meat, but retains some texture. I think panko would get stodgy.
Gabriela
I realised that nobody actually answered your query regarding cooking time from frozen ... that would be 25 - 30 minutes in the oven from frozen. Voila. Oh, and we’ve made lMoroccan lamb sausage rolls previously - but put pine nuts and black currants in them because that’s what we had. Sriracha sauce is fantastic with them, too
alt
Boy what fun to make and serve! Made only 1/2 recipe and that was plenty for four people to share with other sides provided. Like may of the commenters, I will add more harissa next time. I would also have appreciated a more clear indication that the lamb was mixed in raw, as I was concerned until they were cut into at serving time. but they were completely done. I also sliced them (as pictured) for presentation purposes.
Chantal
One of the most satisfying things I've made in a VERY long time!! Puff pastry has always frightened me, but I found it to be very forgiving - even after it got too warm. Having read comments, I upped the spice -- adding about 1/2T of Urfa Biber to the not-quite 1T of harissa I had left. Absolutely FANTASTIC!!! It took a while to make, but worth it -- so next time (and there WILL be a next time) it'll be familiar, so should come together quite quickly.
Jane
Really tasty, a fun difference from regular sausage rolls. Since lamb can be leaner than sausage and these have couscous, it's also easier to get them not-gross-greasy which is an issue I've had with regular sausage rolls (and I like sausage grease!).
victoria
These were delicious! I used ground pork and golden raisins (rather than currants) because I had both on hand. Factor in 5-10 minutes for the rolls to rest after removing from the oven. We dug in right away and they were HOT (but so good). I served with the Moroccan carrot salad from NYT.
Jane
Could I use Phyllo instead of puff pastry in this recipe? Or is that incompatible, re texture or cooking times or...some other reason? I can envision cooking the filling ingredients first, making phyllo triangles, as the ingredients seem as if they would work- maybe with some tweaking, or not.
Joanna
Answer to Mike in Boston. Trader Joe’s puff pastry is the best! As good as Dufois but half the price. Considered a seasonal item but it’s in their stores now (October)
mikermeals
Amazing!
Francoise
Where do you shop for harissa?
Mike
I made these last night and they came out great overall. I didn’t have harissa paste so, after a bit of research I subbed with a mix of sriracha, Aleppo pepper, ground cumin and coriander, mixed into a paste. The filling came out great, but when I make it again I will add more heat, maybe a dash of cayenne (unless I find harissa in the meantime). The only disappointment was the mass market puff pastry, which is pretty bland. Any ideas for where to buy good quality puff pastry around Boston?
bethany H
This recipe was delicious. Incredibly moist. I used ground beef bc I didn’t have lamb. I agree with others that if you want it to be spicy, you may need to double your harissa depending on its heat level. Mine was a pretty hot paste to begin with and I used the suggested 1 tablespoon. I must say that the heat was lost through the cooking process. That is the only thing I’ll do differently next time. I’ll make sure to have these prepared and unbaked,frozen in the fridge for last minute meals
Linda
Uncooked sausage rolls freeze very well but will stick together unless separated by grease proof paper or wrapped individually. Easiest cooking is in an air fryer at 200c for 15-17 minutes and served with sriracha salsa or tomato sauce (ketchup) or homemade relish.
Martina
So yummy! Can use scarpelli sausage mixed with couscous and onions. Top with everything bagel seasoning
Donna Sue
Agree that these turn out pretty large. Could have easily made 8 instead of 4. Harissa paste is a must and absolutely affects the flavor and heat. Know your audience. Very tasty.
Thomas
Next time I will use more harissa as it needed a bit more flavor, although it was very nice. I only used 1/2 the amount of puff pastry that was called for and just made two rolls (served 1 roll for two people the first night and the same two people enjoyed the remaining roll the next day at lunch). I used nigella seeds instead of poppy seeds and loved the aroma and extra flavor that they provided.
Phil
I made this almost exactly according to the recipe. Could only find big Israeli couscous, so used Panko instead. Had some dried Bing Cherries,chopped those up instead of Currants. Also added about a TBS of raw chopped garlic to the mix. My puff pastry was one sheet scored in 4 parts. I rolled it out a bit, but still had a little too much filling to be able to fit. I wouldn’t call this bland, but it could have used some more pizzazz. Pickled peppers, herbs, or a dipping sauce maybe?
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