If you were to take a peek inside of our freezer, I can guarantee that you will ALWAYS find a batch or two of homemade sausage rolls in there, as they are a staple snack in our house.
My two older boys (plus my husband!) are mad for sausage rolls, (in fact anything that is covered in pastry is a winner in their eyes). I really don’t mind too much because they are just so easy to make and are a great way to smuggle some extra veggies into their diet. Given that I make a batch of sausage rolls every few of weeks, I do get a little bored using the same ingredients and sausage rolls recipe, so I’m always keen to try something new.
To mix things up a little this time, I decided to make a batch of sausage rolls based on one of our favourite sandwich fillings: chicken, pesto and cheese. The resulting Chicken and Pesto Sausage Roll recipe made with Barilla’s new Pesto with Basil and Rocket, got a big thumbs up from everyone in our house.
I promise you that this recipe will take no time at all to make. With lots of grating and mixing involved, it’s a great recipe for the kids to help you out with. I made sure to add a generous helping of both tasty and Parmesan cheese to this recipe. It helps to balance the lovely ‘zing’ of the Basil and Rocket Pesto (important for little people) plus a grated zucchini to give the kids an extra hit of veggies. I also sprinkled poppy seeds onto my sausage rolls just before they went into the oven, but you can easily omit these if you prefer.
Given these didn’t last very long, it’s pretty safe to say that these Chicken and Pesto Sausage Rolls were are BIG hit! I popped half of the batch into the freezer for lunch box snacks and weeknight dinners (perfect served alongside a simple salad or some steamed veggies). The remaining 12 were enjoyed by both of the boys and my husband for lunch and afternoon tea. While they taste great straight from the oven and served with some homemade tomato sauce (after all you must have tomato sauce on a sausage roll right?!) I also added them to the boys lunch boxes when we headed down to the park for a picnic one day and they enjoyed them just as much cold.
