Instructions

1. Cook onions gently in butter until soft but not brown, then set aside to cool slightly.
2. Knead the brandy (or substitute), herbs, spices, salt and pepper into the sausage mince. Roll the meat between 2 sheets of floured plastic wrap to a large rectangle about 1 cm thick.
3. Peel off the top sheet of wrap and top the meat layer evenly with the onions. Then, using the bottom sheet of wrap to help, roll up the meat like a Swiss roll. If you would prefer a thinner or small sausage roll, assemble the meat into a rectangle shape rather than a square and roll from the long edge. Should you take the latter approach you may need to cut the roll in half to fit into the baking tin.
4. Lift the meat roll into a greased shallow baking tin, seam side down, and bake in a preheated moderately slow oven (160°C) for 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
5. Increase the oven temperature to very hot (230°C).
6. Roll out pastry to a sheet large enough to wrap around the meat. If you are using store-bought pastry, cut into strips wide enough to wrap around the meat with an extra 2cm or so for the seam.
7. Place meat on pastry and wrap it around, brushing a little egg yolk onto seam and pressing it together. Place seam side down on baking tray and chill for 20 minutes.
8. Cut sausage roll onto the desire lengths and then make a few slashes through the top of the pastry before brushing with egg yolk. Bake in very hot oven (230°C) for 10–15 minutes or until pastry is lightly coloured. Reduce heat to moderate (180°C) and bake for 15 minutes longer or until pastry is golden brown and meat is heated through.
9. Serve hot or warm – homemade tomato sauce optional but highly recommended!