Sausage and Broccoli Donut

17/11/2023

The sausage and broccoli donut is a rustic and hearty dish, great both as an appetizer and as a main course. Here’s how you can prepare it.

Ingredients

500 g of pizza dough or bread dough
300 g of sausage
400 g of broccoli
200 g of mozzarella (or sweet provolone)
2 cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper (if desired)
Chopped rosemary (to taste)
1 egg yolk for brushing the surface (optional)

Preparation

Clean the broccoli by removing the woody parts and divide them into florets. Wash the florets well and cook them in boiling salted water for about 5-7 minutes; they must be soft but not mushy. Drain them and set them aside.
In a skillet, sauté the garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil, then add the crumbled sausage (without the skin). Cook until the sausage is well browned, then remove the garlic and add the broccoli. Adjust salt, add a sprinkling of pepper and some chopped rosemary, then let it flavor for a few minutes, stirring gently.
Roll out the pizza or bread dough into a disk on a floured work surface, trying to achieve a uniform thickness of about a half centimeter.
Cut the mozzarella or provolone into cubes and distribute it over the surface of the dough, leaving a border of about 2-3 centimeters free. Pour the cooled sausage and broccoli mixture on top.
Roll the dough up on itself to form a cylinder, then close it into a donut shape by joining the ends. Carefully move the donut onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
If you wish, brush the surface with a beaten egg yolk for a more intense browning.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 25-30 minutes or until the surface of the donut is golden brown and crispy.
Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving.

Curiosity

The savory donut is a rustic variant of the more classic sweet donuts. In Italy, particularly in some regions such as Emilia-Romagna, it is typical to prepare rustic donuts with robust ingredients such as cured meats and cheeses, which are often consumed during holidays or as part of a communal meal. Sausage and broccoli are a rich and tasty combination that can transform the donut into a complete and very satisfying dish.