Fennel & Garlic Sausage Rolls
Oh, I do love a good sausage roll. They remind me of picnics and my favourite bakery in Bristol (whose recipe I will never be able to match). I remember making sausage rolls for the first time in high school, during a ‘food tech’ class. It was a revelation you could make these just as easy at home and they were MUCH tastier than the Gregg’s version I was used to. Still, it was a few years before I did actually try making them myself again.
I like having a batch of these ready for the weekend. I know some recipes will insist on enjoying warm straight from the oven. For me, I prefer them cold the next day. They make a really good lunchtime side to a bowl of soup. Or enjoy a plateful with large helpings of piccalilli.
Don’t worry too much about the perfect bake, it’s never something I personally strive for. Having baked a few batches of these, I’ve come to accept puff pastry has a mind of its own. They come out different every time! It’s okay if they’re a bit on the ugly side, they still taste delicious and won’t hang around long enough for anyone to judge.
Recipe for Fennel & Garlic Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
- 600g free-range pork sausages
- 500g puff pastry, room temperature
- 3 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
- handful breadcrumbs
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
- olive oil
Method
- Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently for roughly 15 minutes until soft and golden. Add the crushed garlic, 2 tsp fennel seeds and chopped thyme leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more then set aside to cool.
- Squeeze the sausage meat from the skins of the sausages. Add to a mixing bowl with the garlic and fennel mixture, a handful of breadcrumbs and season well before scrunching with clean hands to bind it all together.
- On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a big rectangle roughly the thickness of a pound coin, then cut in half lengthways. Divide the sausage mixture in two, shape into a log and lay along the centre of each triangle.
- Brush one edge of each rectangle with the beaten egg, then fold the other side over and press with the back of a fork to seal the log tightly. Repeat with the other rectangle.
- Cut the long rolls into your preferred size and trim any excess pastry at each end. Place on a baking tray spaced apart and brush with the remaining beaten egg before sprinkling the rest of the fennel seeds over the top.
- Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
- Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently for roughly 15 minutes until soft and golden. Add the crushed garlic, 2 tsp fennel seeds and chopped thyme leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more then set aside to cool.
- Squeeze the sausage meat from the skins of the sausages. Add to a mixing bowl with the garlic and fennel mixture, a handful of breadcrumbs and season well before scrunching with clean hands to bind it all together.
- On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a big rectangle roughly the thickness of a pound coin, then cut in half lengthways. Divide the sausage mixture in two, shape into a log and lay along the centre of each triangle.
- Brush one edge of each rectangle with the beaten egg, then fold the other side over and press with the back of a fork to seal the log tightly. Repeat with the other rectangle.
- Cut the long rolls into your preferred size and trim any excess pastry at each end. Place on a baking tray spaced apart and brush with the remaining beaten egg before sprinkling the rest of the fennel seeds over the top.
- Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.