Rachel Khoo: roll with it

You can take the girl out of Britain, but not Britain out of the girl.

With St Georges day looming on Tuesday, home is firmly on my mind. In Paris, St Patrick’s day is always heartily celebrated (the popularity of Irish pubs in France never ceases to surprise me), whereas our patron saint, St George, rarely gets a second thought. So, this year I intend to get all patriotic and showcase one of my favourite English party treats to my Gallic friends to mark the occasion. I think my version of sausage rolls -with a little French twist - will go down a storm.

Boudin Noir and Apple Sausage Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

375g all butter puff pastry

250g Boudin Noir

3 Granny Smith apples

large pinch of crushed fennel seeds

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp honey

large knob of butter

salt and pepper

egg wash (one egg plus 1 tsp milk)

12 sage leaves

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6. To make the apple purée: peel and core the apples and cut into rough chunks. Heat the knob of butter in a small saucepan and add the apples and lemon juice, cooking on a low heat with the lid on for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. (If the mixture gets too dry, add a little water.) Once the apples are nice and soft, add the fennel seeds and honey and season. Whizz in a blender and leave to cool in the fridge.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Cut the block of puff pastry in half and roll out each half into a rectangle 30cm x 10cm and 7mm thick. Spread the cold apple purée along the middle of each length. Remove the skin from the boudin noir and place chunks of sausage on the apple purée, evenly distributed to the end of the pastry. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash and roll the two pieces into a long sausage shape. Cut into 12 evenly sized rolls. Place on the baking tray seam side down and brush the tops with egg wash. Top each roll with a sage leaf. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.