Pork, Fennel & Date Sausage Rolls
Pork sausage rolls are pure nostalgia for me, flaky pastry going absolutely everywhere, and dad going ballistic at the state of the car on the way to a holiday. A very happy memory for me, perhaps slightly less so for him. These Pork, Fennel and Date Sausage Rolls are my grown up version of that childhood staple, and they are everything a sausage roll should be.
Make them in big batches in the oven or smaller batches in the air fryer, and don't be afraid to raid the cupboard, dried fruits, nuts, spices, whatever you've got works beautifully here. They freeze perfectly too, so make a batch, pop them in an airtight container, and pull them out to bake from frozen whenever you need a quick easy snack. Honestly, one of the most useful things you can have stashed away.
Makes: 16 | Using 2 sheets of store-bought puff pastry
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 celery stick, finely diced
2 tbsp port (optional)
500g pork sausage meat
100g fresh sourdough breadcrumbs
6 dried apricots, finely chopped
2 dates, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried Italian herbs
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 sheets store-bought puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Method
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and celery and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent but not coloured, about 6 minutes.
Add the port and let it bubble for a minute to cook off the alcohol. Tip the mixture onto a plate, spread it out and allow to cool completely, about 10 minutes. Warm onion will make your filling greasy and hard to slice.
In a large bowl combine the sausage meat, breadcrumbs, apricots, dates, Italian herbs, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Add the cooled onion mixture and mix well with your hands until evenly combined. Don't overwork it or the texture will go dense.
Lay each sheet of pastry on a board. Divide the filling in half and shape each portion into a log along one long edge of the pastry, leaving a small border. Brush the far edge with beaten egg, then roll the pastry tightly around the filling and seal seam-side down.
Slice each roll into 8 even pieces, approximately 5cm each. Score the top of each piece with two shallow diagonal cuts and brush all over with the remaining beaten egg.
Oven: Bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for 25-30 minutes until deep golden and cooked through. Air fryer: Preheat to 180°C and cook in a single layer for 12-15 minutes, checking at 10 minutes and turning the basket halfway for even colour.
They're done when the pastry is deep golden all over and the filling reaches an internal temperature of at least 74°C, or cut one open to check there's no pink meat.
Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Elliot's Tips
To make sourdough breadcrumbs toast a couple of slices of sourdough, allow to cool completely then blitz in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Fresh breadcrumbs make a real difference to the texture of the filling.
Swap the dried fruit at Christmas. Dried cranberries in place of the apricots and dates gives you a festive version that works beautifully on a party platter.
Make ahead with confidence. These can be assembled up to a day ahead and refrigerated unbaked, bring to room temperature before baking. Or freeze unbaked for up to 3 months.
Cooking from frozen in the air fryer. Add an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time and you'll have perfect sausage rolls straight from the freezer.
Serve with a good quality tomato relish or chutney. They're the perfect partner.