Nigella's Pigs in Blankets recipe

At first glance this recipe doesn’t seem particularly special. These pigs in blankets* are made from hot dogs, puff pastry and an egg (or vegan alternative). The recipe comes from Kitchen (affiliate link) by Nigella Lawson, where she describes these franks-in-blanks as “an eating experience that is nothing short of rapturous”. She’s absolutely right. It all starts to make sense when you get the ugly little constructions into the oven and they puff up and turn golden brown.

I’ve made these sausage rolls using vegetarian and meat frankfurters and both received glowing feedback. The veggie hot dogs (which can be found in the frozen aisle in Sainsbury’s or Tesco - they seem to have been discontinued - what a shame) taste surprisingly similar to their meaty equivalents.

The amount of sausage rolls you end up with depends on the size and number of your hot dogs. It can help to unroll the pastry and roughly lay over the hot dogs to figure out how to divide it up. If the pastry doesn’t look big enough, roll it out with a rolling pin to make it go further. I usually find that one pre-rolled sheet is plenty and any leftovers get turned into jam tarts.

These sausage rolls are perfect for picnics, party food or lunchboxes. I don’t make the dipping sauce but I’ve included the ingredients and method below.

* The name has always confused me. I think of pigs in blankets as bacon-wrapped sausages but Nigella has two recipes and both involve pastry.