These easy Cheese & Onion Rolls are almost as common on a British buffet as their sausage cousins! Using fluffy potato as a base and packed with onion and tasty cheese, they really are a delicious veggie puff pastry snack. Air fryer and oven instructions included for extra ease!
250gCooked Mashed Potato - without significant butter/milk/cream
Instructions
Poke 500g Potato with a fork and microwave on a microwave safe plate or bowl until soft – around 5 to 8 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes.
Once cooked, cut each potato in half then scoop out the cooked flesh. You want to end up with around 250g Mashed Potato. You may have a little spare depending on the size of your potatoes.
Give it a mix to break up any lumps then allow it to cool spread out on a plate.
Alternatively make up instant mash with 25g Instant Potato Powder and 250ml Boiling Water. Allow it to cool.
Meanwhile, finely dice 200g Onion.
Add the onion to a microwaveable bowl along with 1 tbsp Salted Butter and ½ tsp Sea Salt Flakes.
Cook the onion in the microwave for 5 minutes – give them a stir a couple of times during cooking. They will be softened but not cooked through – you want to retain some bite. Set aside to cool.
Once the potato and onions are cool, preheat the oven to 200c fan | 220c | 390c or equivalent.
Mix the potato and onion mix together then add 250g Grated Cheese, 1½ tsp English Mustard Powder and ½ tsp Sea Salt Flakes.
Crack and beat 1 Egg then add the majority to the potato cheese mix. Reserve around ¼ to glaze the rolls.
Mix everything together until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Roll 320g Puff Pastry out on a floured surface to about ¼ inch thickness. Or unroll a sheet of ready rolled pastry.
Cut the sheet into half lengthways with a sharp knife.
Split the potato mixture roughly in half and then in half again. Form a quarter of the filling into a sausage shape half the length of each pastry strip. Using wet hands will help with this.
Place the filling around ⅔ of the way along the pastry strip.
Repeat with the remaining 3 quarters of the filling. Make sure the filling reaches from end to end and is of roughly equal thickness all the way along.
Use a pastry brush to cover the smaller side of exposed pastry with a little of the reserved egg.
Start to roll the pastry around the filling starting with the egg free pastry. Keep the pastry nice and tight to the filling.
Continue to roll until the filling is totally enclosed. Wet your finger a little and gently press along with pastry seam – this will allow the pastry to meld together and reduce the likelihood of the pastry coming apart as it cooks.
Use the same sharp knife to cut the end off of each roll to neaten it up if needed. Cut each roll into half, then half again and then half again to end up with 16 rolls.Note – Use the knife to saw rather than press down or you will squash the rolls. Wipe the knife in between each cut. Don't forget not to press too hard.
Move each roll to a lined baking tray, seam side down. Make sure the rolls each have ample room to expand.
Generously egg wash the top and sides of each roll. Make sure to not wash the exposed ends or filling.
Sprinkle over roughly 25g Grated Cheese. Try to pile a little onto each roll or you’ll end up wasting a load on the baking tray.
Bake for 15 minutes until light golden brown. They may need slightly longer depending on your oven. Use your eyes and judgement. If your oven does not cook evenly, turn the tray midway through cooking.
Allow to cool a little before tucking in!
TO AIR FRY (SEE NOTES SECTION FOR MORE GUIDANCE)
Prepare the rolls per the oven instructions but apply the egg wash and extra cheese without moving them to a tray.
Preheat your air fryer if your version requires you to.
Once hot, remove the basket and lightly grease using an oil spray (not fry light) or brush on some oil. Be careful because the basket will now be hot.
Use tongs to carefully place the rolls into the basket. Make sure to leave enough room for the rolls to puff up.
Cook for 15 minutes at 180c/350f.
Remove the rolls from the basket to a cooling rack then continue to cook the remaining rolls in as many batches as you need.
Notes
The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Corsori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
For this recipe, I can fit 6 cheese and onion rolls in the basket at a time. The fit is quite snug. For the recipe as written, this means that I need to cook the rolls in 3 batches.
As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.