While browsing for finger food type recipes to make for a tea party, I came across this recipe and thought it sounded delicious. I was a little worried about working with puff pastry because I'd never done so before, but it turned out to be just fine. I liked the finished product quite a lot! This is definitely party food and not an everyday food but I'd absolutely make it again for a special occasion. My version includes some very small changes from the original and is localized for people living in the United States.
Notes:
- I got plain ground pork and mixed my own set of spices and seasonings into it. I liked this quite a lot but if you have a favorite pork sausage mix or want to save time by getting pork sausage, by all means use that instead.
- Puff pastry is usually sold frozen and often comes in boxes of 2 sheets that measure about 15x10 inches. The original recipe calls for 375 g (~13.2 oz). I bought a 17 oz box and I had some left over.
- I prepared this the previous evening and refrigerated it overnight, then baked it a couple of hours before the party per the make ahead directions on the recipe. It worked really nicely.
- By the time it was done baking, there was a big puddle of grease at the bottom of the pan. I am pretty sure it was from the meat so if you are worried about that, or cannot or don't want to eat pork, maybe a leaner ground meat would work better, though it will not taste quite as rich as pork. I'd recommend ground chicken, turkey, or venison.
------------------
RECIPE:
Sausage and Fennel Seed Rolls
Adapted from BBC Good Food
Makes 2 logs, about 20-24 pieces total; serves about 6-8
Sausage filling
14 oz plain ground pork
2-3 cloves minced garlic (about 1-1.5 tsp)
2 tsp dried powdered or rubbed sage
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp water
Pastry
2 sheets puff pastry
1 tbsp fennel seed
1 egg or egg yolk, beaten, for brushing onto pastry
1 egg or egg yolk, beaten, for brushing onto pastry
Place all ingredients for the sausage filling in a medium bowl and mix with your hands or a spoon until evenly mixed. Be careful not to overwork the mixture. Divide into 2 halves. Place one half of the sausage mixture on a piece of saran wrap about 16 inches long. Shape the mixture into a cylinder or log about 12 inches long, then wrap it tightly in the saran wrap. Transfer it to a tray or plate and place in the refrigerator. Repeat with the other half of the sausage mixture. Let chill for at least 15-20 minutes (you can chill it for longer).
Preheat oven to 390°F (400°F if your oven doesn't set to 390°). Unfold puff pastry sheets onto a flat work surface lined with parchment paper. Cut one of the pastry sheets in half lengthwise (to make 2 pieces 15 x 5 in). Unwrap the chilled sausage logs and place one in the center of each piece of the cut puff pastry. Top each with 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds. Using a sharp knife, make cuts every 3/4 inch from the edge of the pastry to the meat along the long sides of the puff pastry to create little tabs; if you're very precise about your math you should end up with 19 cuts/20 sections on each side. Fold up the ends. Starting at one end, pick up a tab from one side of the roll and drape it over the sausage, then repeat with the one from the other side. Do this until all of the tabs are folded over the sausage. Repeat with the other roll. If you are baking them immediately, lift the rolls onto a baking sheet (the parchment paper helps with this) and brush with the beaten egg.
Cut six 3/4 inch wide strips lengthwise from the other puff pastry sheet (15 inches long by 3/4 inch wide). Reserve the leftover pastry for another use. Lay 3 of the strips with their tops overlapping, pinch the ends together, and braid them. Once you have braided all the way to the bottom, pinch the ends together to keep them from unraveling. Repeat with the other 3 strips. Place one braid on the top of each of the sausage rolls, and if you are baking them immediately, brush the braids with the beaten egg.
Place rolls in the oven on the second rack from the bottom and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the outside is golden brown and pastry has puffed up. Once baked, they can be sliced and served immediately, or they can be served at room temperature.
If making ahead: Do not preheat the oven while you prepare the pastry and do not brush the rolls with beaten egg. After shaping, cover the rolls with saran wrap or place inside a container with a lid and refrigerate until ready to bake (up to 24 hours). They may also be frozen for several months and defrosted in the refrigerator overnight before baking. If you freeze them, place in the freezer for about 1 hour on a flat surface to firm up, then wrap tightly in saran wrap and store in a plastic freezer bag. Brush rolls with beaten egg just before baking.
