Pork and Fennel Sausage Rolls
Make a dozen of these irresistible gourmet Pork and Fennel Sausage Rolls at home. They're super simple and a real crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
- 150 gm bacon (NOTE 1)
- 2 tsp light olive oil (or mild)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 small brown onion (finely diced)
- ⅓ cup finely diced fennel (NOTE 2)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (or 2 tsp for a stronger fennel taste)
- 500 gm pork mince (ground pork, not lean or low fat) (NOTE 3)
- 2 large egg (1 for egg wash/brushing on pastry)
- ⅔ cups fresh breadcrumbs (NOTE 4)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry (defrosted as per packet guide) (NOTE 5)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Grease a large tray with oil or melted butter. Roughly chop the bacon and place it in a food processor, pulse until finely chopped.
- For the bacon mixture - Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add in the garlic, onion, fennel, fennel seeds and stir quickly for a minute. Add in the bacon and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Place the bacon mixture on a plate so it cools down a little.
- In a large bowl, place in the pork mince, ONE egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper then add in the bacon mixture. Using your hand or wooden spoon, mix well until combined.
- Whisk an egg in a small bowl for the egg wash. Cut the pastry sheet in half equally, creating 4 even rectangles. Place 1/4 of the meat mixture onto a pastry sheet and shape it lengthwise into a log, making sure there's meat in the edges. Use both hands and carefully roll up the pastry, evenly and tightly. Place the seams down and repeat with the remaining steps until you have 4 long rolls.
- Brush the top of the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle on sesame seeds (optional), then cut rolls into three or whatever size you prefer. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, turning the tray halfway through baking.
Notes
(NOTE 1) Bacon - My favourite bacon is streaky, as I like the ratio of fat and meat. However, all kinds of rindless bacon with fat would work. Avoid lean variety bacon, like shortcut bacon.
(NOTE 2) Fennel - To prepare fennel - cut the stem and roots off, leaving just the bulb. Remove 1 or 2 layers of the outer layers of the bulb, then cut the bulb into quarters. Then remove the core from each quarter and discard it. Dice or slice the remaining fennel bulb for cooking or salads.
(NOTE 3) Pork mince (ground pork) - For the best taste, use pork with fat mixed in and not the lean variety.
(NOTE 4) Fresh breadcrumbs - A day old or stale bread is preferable. Roughly tear the bread and pulse in a food processor until you get breadcrumbs.
(NOTE 5) Frozen puff pastry sheets - I love using prepackaged puff pastry because it's convenient and tastes pretty good. They need to be defrosted at room temperature before use. Follow the guide on the packet, however, don't let it defrost too long or they'll become difficult to handle. The square pastry sheets I used were 24 cm (9.5 in).
Leftovers - Allow the sausage rolls to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the rolls into a sealed container and refrigerate. It'll be good for up to 3 to 4. Frozen rolls will keep for up to 3 months.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
Nutrition
Serving: 1rollCalories: 296kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 13gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 350mgPotassium: 205mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 57IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 2mg