Being vegetarian for the last 20 years, I've been through many a Christmas feast feeling a little disappointed in the vegetarian offerings.
A couple of years ago, when we had family over for Christmas lunch, I even forgot to make myself something as I was so focused on making a delicious turkey filled lunch for everyone else!
While I'm not one to quibble about a plate of roasted vegetables, it's definitely much nicer to have something a little bit special, and delicious to eat at the holidays.
But vegetarians needn't be short changed at Thanksgiving or Christmas, because there are lots of delicious options to inspire (check out my Mushroom Wellington for example), and even meat eaters will enjoy them!
And these Pumpkin & Harissa vegetarian Sausage Rolls are sure to make both vegetarians and meat eaters happy.
Flaky buttery pastry encases a filling of roasted pumpkin, caramelized onions and harissa. Pumpkin and harissa are one of my favorite flavor combinations, and it just works wonderfully in these vegetarian sausage rolls.
While you could use any type of puff pastry here, if you want to serve them at Christmas and make them extra special, it pays to get a good quality all butter puff pastry. It really does make a big difference.
But if you'd like a vegan version, you can make your own vegan puff pastry.
These mini pumpkin sausage rolls are perfect to serve at a Christmas cocktail party, or even as the vegetarian main course at your holiday lunch or dinner, or any time of the year.
I made some larger sausage rolls for dinner last night and they went down a treat with a big green salad. Oh and they are delicious cold too!
You can also makes these Pumpkin and Harissa vegetarian sausage rolls the day before your Christmas party and reheat just before serving.
I actually think this makes the filling taste better as the flavors tend to infuse further overnight!
More Vegetarian Recipes
If you love these pumpkin sausage rolls, be sure to check out these other tasty ideas:
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb butternut pumpkin, aka butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, large, finely chopped
- 1 roasted red pepper, jarred type with skins and seeds removed
- 2 red chile pepper, seeds and top removed and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed, homemade or store bought
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper, and if your pumpkin is whole split in half. Drizzle the cut side with the 2 teaspoon of the olive oil and lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 45 minutes or until soft and set aside to cool.
- While the pumpkin is roasting place a frying pan over a medium low heat and add a 2 teaspoon of olive oil and the onion and cook until lightly golden. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- To make the harissa, combine the peeled roasted red pepper, the red chile pepper, garlic, cumin, coriander, sea salt and olive oil in a food processor. Process until smooth.
- Once the pumpkin has cooled remove the flesh and place into a large bowl along with the onion, harissa and parsley. Mix to combine and taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
- To make small sausage rolls cut the puff pastry sheets into thirds (or whatever size you think will work for the pastry you are using). Take spoonfuls of the filling and place along the edge of the pastry and roll the pastry to cover the filling, brushing the edge with egg wash to seal.
- Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and repeat with the remaining mixture and pastry. Brush the sausage rolls with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
Rosa says
A great idea! Those Moroccan-style rolls look amazing and ever so scrumptious.Cheers,Rosa
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I don't think I've ever tried pumpkin and harissa but after looking at your photos I really want to. Those sausage rolls look wonderful.
[email protected] says
These looks so good. I am suere that anybody would be happy with such an amazing treat
thelittleloaf says
I'm not vegetarian anymore but I love the look of these - a bit of spice is perfect for kicking the palate into life at Christmas and I love the sesame seeds on top.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
These rolls look incredible - you have such a way with vegetarian dishes, I know I'd love these! 🙂
suzanne Perazzini says
I won't touch the usual sausage rolls because I have no idea what is in them and even if I make them, it's impossible to avoid the high levels of fat. These look like a great compromise and with these flavours, I sure would eat them.
Courtney Jones says
Yum! These sound delicious! I agree - as a vegetarian, it can be tough to find foods to enjoy over the holidays and satisfy your non-vegetarian guests. I guarantee these would be loved by everyone. Awesome post 🙂
Christine @ Cooking Crusade says
These look beautiful and a great snack for Chrissie, especially for vegetarian guests!
Marjolein says
I made these a couple of weeks ago for a party and they were gone in seconds. I made these specifically for the vegetarian amongst us, but he had to hurry as everyone else was grabbing them to. I added some crumbled feta to the pumpkinmixture. Really delicious and super easy to make! This recipe is a keeper!!