About the Recipe
Delicious, fun and easy to handle pocket meat pies.
Ingredients
350g plain flour
80g cold unsalted butter
50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
250g full-fat cream cheese (we used Philadelphia)
100g unsalted butter
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds, plus extra to garnish
700g good quality pork sausagemeat
30g Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 large free-range egg
Preparation
Put the plain flour, 80g cold unsalted butter, 50g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 2 tsp ground black pepper and 1 tsp salt in the bowl of a large food processor. Whizz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add the cream cheese and 80g of the unsalted butter. Whizz again until the mixture comes together. Briefly knead, divide into 2 flattened rectangles, wrap well and chill for 30 minutes.
To make the filling, melt 20g unsalted butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sliced onion, then cook, stirring regularly, for 15-20 minutes until softened and starting to caramelise. Add 1 tsp fennel seeds and cook for 1-2 minutes more, then set aside to cool. Combine the cooled onion mixture with the sausage meat, 30g Parmigiano Reggiano and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Mix well to combine.
Roll out 1 block of chilled pastry to a rectangle roughly 16cm x 40cm and 3mm thick. Beat 1 large free-range egg with a pinch of salt and brush over the pastry. Arrange half the sausage mixture lengthways along the centre. Fold the pastry over to encase the filling, gently pressing to seal. Use a fork to crimp the ‘foot’ of the roll, then slice into 4 equal pieces. Repeat with the remaining mixture and pastry and put on a lined baking sheet. Brush with more beaten egg, then chill for at least 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180ºC fan/gas 6. Brush the sausage rolls again with beaten egg, then sprinkle with more finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano and a pinch of fennel seeds. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden and cooked through.