Makes 8
Ingredients
For the sausage filling
- 1 kg finely minced pork (shoulder and belly mix ideal)
- 75 g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1 apple, quartered, cored, and cut into small pieces
- 150 g blue cheese, crumbled into chunks
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the rough puff pastry
- 175 g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 350 g plain flour
- A good pinch of salt
- About 150 ml iced water
- Egg wash (1 beaten egg mixed with a splash of milk) for glazing
- Fennel seeds and flaky sea salt, to finish
- A few scraps of cheddar for grating (optional)
Method
Mix together the pork, breadcrumbs, apple, thyme, 2/3 of the blue cheese, salt, and pepper.
Combine the butter cubes with the flour and salt in a bowl. Add just enough iced water to bring the dough together. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough in one direction into a rectangle about 1 cm thick. Fold the two short ends into the middle so they overlap. Give the pastry a quarter turn and repeat the rolling and folding process five more times. Wrap the pastry and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Roll out the rested pastry on a floured surface into an oblong about 45 x 12 cm and 4 mm thick. Lay the sausage meat along one long side, about 3 cm from the edge, and scatter over the remaining cheese. Brush the edge with egg wash and fold the other side of the pastry over the filling. Crimp the edges well to seal.
Lightly brush the top with more egg wash and scatter over fennel seeds and a light sprinkling of flaky salt.
Preheat the oven to 180°C / Gas mark 4. Using a serrated knife, cut the sausage roll into 8 lengths and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Bake for 20 minutes, then optionally grate cheddar over the top and bake for a further 15–20 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. These can be stored in the fridge for 1–2 days.
