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Recipe Detail Page
Fennel & Pink Peppercorn Sausage
Holiday 2016
These small patties offer up big flavour in each bite. You can find the fennel seed, pink peppercorns and dates at your local bulk store.
Make 30 sausage patties
1 tsp (5 mL) fennel seed
1 tsp (5 mL) pink peppercorns
1½ lbs (750 g) ground pork
1 tsp (5 mL) finely grated orange zest, about the zest of 1 orange
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh sage, finely chopped
⅛ tsp (0.5 mL) ground nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mL) 35% cream
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp (30 mL) plain bread crumbs
½ tsp (2 mL) salt
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil for frying
Fresh fennel fronds or orange zest for garnish
1 With a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, coarsely grind fennel seed and pink peppercorns.
2 In a large bowl, mix together the ground pork, fennel seed, pink peppercorns, orange zest, sage, nutmeg, cream, egg yolk, bread crumbs and salt until well combined.
3 Form into 30 equal-sized balls and flatten each slightly. Place in refrigerator while preparing the Tamarind Plum Sauce (recipe follows).
4 In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil over medium heat. Add half of the patties and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until golden, flip and continue to cook on second side until golden and cooked through, another 4 to 5 minutes. Place on plate and set aside.
5 Add another 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil to pan and continue cooking the remaining patties.
6 Place all patties back in pan along with Tamarind Plum Sauce, warm through, garnish if desired and serve.
Make 30 sausage patties
TAMARIND PLUM SAUCE
Tamarind is a tree fruit that has a distinctive sweet-sour flavour and can be found in many cuisines of Southeast Asia and India. Its name comes from the Arabic word tamar-hindi, meaning “Indian date.” Tamarind pulp can be found at well-stocked mainstream grocery stores as well as Southeast Asian and Indian grocers.
½ cup (125 mL) tamarind pulp (sold in a plastic wrapped block)
1 cup (250 mL) boiling water
¼ cup (60 mL) pitted dates, whole
1 red or black plum, pitted and cut into 8 pieces
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground ginger
1 tsp (5 mL) garlic, finely sliced
⅛ tsp (0.5 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) water
1 tbsp (15 mL) molasses
1 Place tamarind pulp in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup (250 mL) of boiling water. Break the pulp up with a fork and let sit for 5 minutes until softened.
2 Once softened, use the back of a spoon to push the tamarind pulp through a sieve to achieve ¾ cup (175 mL) of softened tamarind (the mixture will be rather runny). Discard the seeds and fibre.
3 Add to a small saucepan the softened tamarind, dates, plum, ground ginger, garlic, salt and 1 cup (250 mL) water.
4 Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes; let cool slightly.
5 Pour mixture into blender and add molasses. Purée until smooth. It is ready to use.
Makes 2 cups
