Embargoed until 00:01 Thursday 28th February

Celebrate St David's Day with a Sausage Roll

A vegan, Glamorgan Sausage Roll

Forget Gregg's Vegan Sausage Roll, British leek farmers are calling on everyone to celebrate St David's Day this year with a traditional meat free ‘Glamorgan' Sausage Roll instead.

Meat free sausage rolls have been all over the news recently.  However, they are nothing new according to British Leek farmers.  In fact, the delicious but latterly overlooked Glamorgan Sausage, which is made from leeks and cheese, is thought to have originated in the 12^th Century.  It was recorded in the Victorian Travelogue ‘Wild Wales' and was particularly popular during WWII when meat rationing came into force.

Despite being championed more recently by leading chefs including The Hairy Bikers and John Torode, today few Britons outside Wales are aware of the culinary delights that constitute a Glamorgan Sausage and the British Leek Growers Association is keen to address this.

Tim Casey, Leek farmer and Chairman of the British Leek Growers Association said: "The traditional Glamorgan Sausage really does deserve a wider audience.  It's incredibly tasty, inexpensive to prepare, uses seasonal, British ingredients and can be knocked up in minutes.

"To bring this historic recipe bang up to date and in order to celebrate St David's Day 2019, we have commissioned a special, vegan Glamorgan Sausage Roll - which we're confident will give Greggs' offering a run for its money."

VEGAN GLAMORGAN SAUSAGE ROLL RECIPE - created by vegan food stylist and social influencer, Lucy Parker @Lucy_and_Lentils

Ingredients:

For the sausage mix

150g leeks (around 2 small leeks)

100g / 1 cup breadcrumbs

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

1 ½ tsp sage

1 tsp mustard

Large punch black pepper

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

250g apple sauce (unsweetened if possible)

For the pastry

1 sheet puff pastry (270g)

¼ cup stock (I used ½ stock cube with boiling water)

1 tbsp black sesame seeds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200ºC

Finely chop the leeks then add the spices, breadcrumbs and nutritional yeast and mix together

Then add the jar of applesauce and combine until everything is fully coated

Get in there with your hands, and roll the mixture into 3 similarly sized sausages (it helps if they're approximately the same length as the shortest side of the pastry sheet)

Wrap the sausage mix in tin foil then pop in the fridge for 20 minutes

Remove from fridge, then gently fry in a tsp olive oil for 6-7 minutes until turning golden on each side

Lay the sheet of pastry on a flat surface, pop one of the sausages along the shortest side, then roll the sheet over to make the first sausage roll

There should be a little overlap in the pastry, so using a fork crimp the edge to help seal it

Repeat this with the two other sausages then lightly wash in the vegetable stock mix

Gently score the top of the pastry with a knife then finish with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds

If you have any leftover pastry, get creative and cut out letters or shapes to pop on top of the sausage rolls

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden

Allow to cool (if you're patient enough) and enjoy!

SEVEN REASONS WHY WE CELEBRATE ST DAVID'S DAY WITH A LEEK

1. Phoenician traders are said to have introduced the leek to Wales when they were trading for tin in the British Isles - an act that would unexpectedly elevate this humble vegetable to national status thousands of years later.
2. Legend has it that in 640AD, the Briton King Cadwallader and his men were engaged in battle with invading Saxons.  To distinguish themselves from the enemy, the Welsh wore leeks in their hats - and subsequently gained a great victory over their opponents.
3. The leek is also associated with the Welsh Saint David.  During the Middle Ages when Saint David was alive the leek was seen as a healthy and virtuous plant.  Extraordinary qualities were claimed for it.  It was the original health food, high in fibre, good for purging the blood, keeping colds at bay and healing wounds.
4. In 1120 St David was canonised by Pope Callactus II, following which he was declared the patron saint of Wales.
5. During this period the leek also acquired mystic virtues.  It was claimed that girls who slept with a leek under their pillow on St David's Day would see their future husband in their dreams.
6. A 16th Century reference to the leek as a Welsh emblem is found in the Account Book of Princess Mary Tudor.  Earlier still, in the fourteenth century it is known that the feared Welsh archers adopted the green and white colours of the leek for their uniforms, probably at the battle of Crecy.
7. The leek is worn in the caps of today's Welsh soldiers every year on St David's Day.  On the same day, in the prestigious Welsh Guards Regiment, a large raw leek has to be eaten by the youngest recruits to the cheers of comrades.   The green and white plume worn in the ‘Bearskin' hats of the Guards also identifies them as belonging to a Welsh Regiment.  According to tradition, the 600 soldiers of The Royal Welsh regiment are worked with ‘gunfire' - tea laced with rum - served by senior ranks and officers on St David's Day.

Notes to the editor

• To speak to a British Leek farmer about all things leek related for St David's Day please contact Carole Pendle or Sam Westcott on the numbers below.
• To speak to Lucy Parker, food influencer and creator of the Vegan Glamorgan Sausage Roll please contact Carole Pendle or Sam Westcott on the numbers below.
• A range of leek-based recipes are available to view and download atwww.britishleeks.co.uk

For further press information contact

Carole Pendle: Email: carole@pendlepr.com Tel: 07768462601

Sam Westcott: Email: sam.westcott@gmail.com Tel: 07585 909541