INCREDIBLE Spicy Pork, Fennel & Cabbage Sausage Rolls

Guys, guys! You know I'm obsessed with sausage rolls (seriously, OBSESSED) and these pork and fennel sausage rolls have a bit of a twist in them. They're a spicy pork and fennel with spicy cabbage in them too. And these are SERIOUSLY good. This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader!

These pork and fennel sausage rolls were inspired by my deconstructed cabbage roll recipe. I had a cabbage in my vege box and I was all set to make them but then I wanted also to make something for Mr NQN's lunch. I like adding lots of vegetables to dishes to make one pot dishes and this is one way to use an entire wombok cabbage in your sausage rolls without even tasting it. Not that Mr NQN or I dislike vegetables, much the opposite really. These sausage rolls have cabbage, mince, tomato and cheese but I added some Sriracha in them for a bit more flavour.

Also while I love pork not everyone does so feel free to use your favourite mince-obviously pork and fennel go really well together but beef also works. Chicken would also work with this flavour combination too! If you have a favourite plant based mince I think that would also work well too.

Mr NQN adored these sausage rolls for his lunch. After a hiatus of around two years Mr NQN's work lunches are back. Mr NQN has a new job and has moved from the world of fashion to the world of NFTs. He is in the office a couple of days a week and I sometimes pack his lunch for him. I don't really like it when he has to go into the office. It's obviously so much nicer with him around and the house feels big and empty without him there. When I made these for him I was also looking after Teddy's friend Teddy Roo and had two dogs in the house and even then it felt like something was missing.

I took the boys out for a walk in the late afternoon before the sun went down and returned just as it was setting. I walked in and noticed that the downstairs bathroom door was wide open. We usually make sure to close all of the doors just to keep the house as warm as possible and the sight of that wide open door sent a chill down my spine. Then I noticed that one of the back doors was unlocked. I started to panic. Did I leave it unlocked? As a voracious consumer of true crime podcasts and videos I usually make sure to lock everything up tight even when I'm home. I looked around and couldn't see anything else amiss but there was the bedroom upstairs that hadn't been checked.

I decided to go upstairs to investigate. I grabbed a weapon and made my way up the stairs. I made sure to check the walk in robes just in case because they can hide in those. I slid each door carefully open pointing my weapon just in case. "Got you!!!!" I yelled. False alarm - the only thing I could see was my clothes. I checked that my gum boots didn't have any legs in them and then satisfied that there was nobody else in the house I finally relaxed. When Mr NQN returned home that evening I told him all about it.

"Did you take the dogs upstairs with you?" he asked.

"No I didn't want them to get hurt," I said. "I had my weapon anyway," I added.

"What weapon?" he asked.

"I brought the fizzer fizzer with me," I said and he laughed. I hadn't brought much of a weapon. It was one of those stove lighters but it wasn't even one with a flame, it was actually a USB rechargable one so it sparks and it probably hurts a bit like a little burn or electric shock but when I panic I don't think very clearly! And clearly my confidence was bigger than my logic in this case!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you investigate sounds in your house carrying a weapon? And what is in your lunchbox nowadays?

Spicy Pork, Fennel & Cabbage Sausage Rolls

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves: 24 mini sausage rolls

• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds plus extra for sprinkling on top
• 2-4 tablespoons oil

• 750g/26ozs cabbage, finely sliced (I had a small wombok cabbage)

• 1 onion, peeled and diced

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
• 500g/1.1lbs pork or beef mince
• 3/4 cup/210g/7ozs tomato paste
• 3-4 tablespoons Sriracha
• 1 egg, beaten
• 75g/2.6ozs parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup chia seeds (optional)
• 4 sheets butter puff pastry
• 1 egg, whisked for egg wash

Step 1 - Heat a large frypan or skillet on medium to high heat and dry toast the fennel seeds for 1 minute until fragrant. Remove and place in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and fry the cabbage until softened. You can add a little water to it to help it wilt down but make sure that there is no liquid or water left in the pan once the cabbage is cooked or it will make your filling mixture a bit sloppy. Remove from the pan and place in the same bowl as the fennel seeds and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté the onion on medium heat until soft and then add garlic and sauté for a minute. Place the onion and garlic mixture in the bowl along with the cabbage.

Step 2 - Add the mince, tomato paste, Sriracha, egg and parmesan and mix together well. If it is still too wet add the chia seeds that should absorb some of the moisture and swell up. Place the filling in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.

Step 3 - Preheat oven to 220C/428F/gas mark 7. Thaw the puff pastry sheets in the fridge and take one out at a time and pipe a very thick log down one side taking up 1/3 of the width. Then brush the edge with eggwash and roll it up into a log. I like to place these in the freezer to firm up for 20 minutes both to create a good, rounded shape and also so that the puff pastry rises well in the oven.

Step 4 - Brush with egg wash and cut each log into six pieces. Sprinkle with extra fennel seeds. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Serve with tomato sauce (I like to add a little Sriracha to the tomato sauce for spiciness).