Monday, May 17, 2010

Pork, veal and fennel rolls: A fairy tale.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away, there was a fair maiden. She spent her weeks days (mostly 9am -5pm) in the Land of Ultimo. Everything in her life was wonderful. She had a handsome Prince who loved her, lovely friends and most notably, a Bourke Street Bakery. “A bakery?” you might gasp in shock. But this is no ordinary bakery, it is the greatest bakery in all the land. Each day at approximately 12.30pm the fair maiden would jump onto her horse and ride the few short blocks to the bakery for lunch. One day it was a poached chicken sandwich, the next a lamb and harissa sausage roll. On very special occasions she would return with a ginger brulee tart.
But little did the fair maiden know that an evil sorcerer was out to destroy her happiness. This evil sorcerer, known as Notre Dame, wanted the Bourke Street Bakery all for himself.  But this was never going to be, and so the evil sorcerer kicked Bourke Street Bakery out of their home, banished them from the Land of Ultimo forever!
I thought I’d just interject here kidlets and let you know that there IS a happy ending to this story. Just in case any of you were getting a bit scared of the evil sorcerer..


 Just when the evil sorcerer though he had stamped out all deliciousness from the land of Ultimo, Bourke Street Bakery rose from the ashes! With a book! A gospel! A bible, if you will. This book contained all of their magical recipes, ensuring that deliciousness was to continue, not only in the land of Ultimo but in the homes of all the Ultimo folk. 

And the fair maiden? Well, she went on to cook the most amazing pork sausage rolls she had ever come across. And they all lived happily ever after. The End.


Pork, veal and fennel rolls
(adapted from the Bourke Street Bakery by Paul Allam & David McGuiness)

500 g pork mince
500 g veal mince
2 carrots, grated
Half bunch of celery, trimmed and grated
1 large brown onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves finely chopped garlic (depending on your personal taste)
60 g fennel seeds (this is a lot of fennel based on personal taste, reduce to you own taste if need be)
6 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
Fresh thyme, 2-3 sprigs leaves picked
Egg wash
Grab your mortal and pestle and crush fennel seeds, thyme and crushed garlic together (or just roughly chop all ingredients together).  Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a fry pan. Fry off fennel mix for a minute or until aromatic. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook mixture for another 15 minutes or until veggies are cooked through. Set aside and leave to cool.
In a large bowl mix mince and veggies together. Season with salt and pepper.
Slice piece of thawed puff pastry in half. Take a hand full of the mix and shape in the middle of the puff pastry. Egg wash the edge of the puff pastry and roll. Cut roll in half or to desired size. Egg wash the top of the roll (and sprinkle with extra fennel seeds if desired).
Cook in 200 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until perfectly browned on top.
Tip: They will keep for several months in your freezer, wrap each roll in a sheet of baking paper and store in a freezer bag. 



And for those of you playing along at home, this is based on a true story.. and I am the fair maiden *wink wink*.

Bourke Street Bakery, Surry Hills
633 Bourke St, Surry Hills NSW 2010‎ 
(02) 9699 1011

Bourke Street Bakery, Marrickville
2 Mitchell St, Marrickville NSW 2204
(02) 9569 3225

Bourke Street Bakery, Alexandria
474 Gardeners Rd, Alexandria NSW 2015‎ 
(02) 8339 100

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