One of the best cookbooks I got when I was first learning to cook was a collection of recipes from the sides of boxes, cans, etc. It wasn’t fancy, but that’s sort of the point of those types of recipes. Sure, it’s product-related, but it also is usually a quick, easy way of putting together something edible.
Aside from the best vanilla cream pie recipe (from Argo and Kingsford’s corn starch packaging), one of my favorite recipes from the book is a sausage and vegetable mix wrapped in puff pastry. And I knew from when I started this blog that it would be one of the recipes for my sheet pan year.
There was just one problem. I couldn’t find it anywhere in the cookbook.
I scoured all relevant sections, and nothing.
I started to think it was one of those invented memories, like “Shazaam.”
So, I did what any totally normal and sane person would do; I went through the g-d damn book page by pain-staking page to find it. And buried near the end of the sandwich section of all flippin’ places, I found the recipe I remembered from before.
While I might like to complain about the delay, it actually worked out pretty well because we had a nice hot Italian sausage from the farmer’s market from Lucky George Farm that worked perfectly with the recipe. And if I’d made it sooner, I wouldn’t have used this excellent meat.
It was every bit as good — OK, a little better, because did I mention the awesome sausage?! — as I remembered, even if I forgot one ingredient (oops!).
Here’s what I did, with said forgotten ingredient included as optional:
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm, if you wanted to know which box this originated from)
- 1 lb. ground sausage
- 1 small to medium onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped (optional)
- 1 ½ c. shredded Swiss cheese
- 3 T. parsley, chopped
- Flour, for rolling out pastry dough
Directions
Thaw the puff pastry at least 20 minutes, and up to overnight.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees, and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a large skillet, cook the sausage until browned (about 10 minutes), and then add the pepper and onion and cook until the vegetables are tender (another 5 minutes or so).
Remove from heat (pour out fat if there’s a lot but my meat was as lean as you’d want sausage), and add the tomato, if using, cheese, and parsley. Set aside.
Meanwhile, unfold and roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface until it reaches approximately 14 inches by 10 inches. Transfer the puff pastry to the lined sheet pan (I do this by rolling up the dough around my rolling pin and then unspooling).
Spread the sausage mixture along the 14 inch side, near the edge. Roll up along the long side, like you’re making a jelly roll (this is what the ingredients in the book say too!).
Pinch the dough together to seal and then curve into an oval or horseshoe shape. Cut the dough about halfway through every 1 ½ inches.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden, and enjoy!
