A few weeks ago I had friends in town visiting. I was so happy to have them here not just because I enjoy spending time with them but also because I loved cooking for them. We spent every morning enjoying the most awesome friends breakfasts and just about every day they’d say “OMG, I need the recipe for this.” Which made me of course feel so good about the food I was making them! One of those happened to be these five spice sausages.

 

Part of why we love food so much is getting to share it with those we love, when we change our lifestyles to focus on healthier food sometimes that becomes difficult if our family or friends don’t make similar choices. But I always love the opportunity to cook for them, one of which follows a Paleo lifestyle and the other who doesn’t but still makes healthy choices.  Needless to say after they raved over these I knew I had to share them with you all.

 

 

Lately I have played around with reintroducing some foods back into my daily life which I am super stoked about, in particular seeds and seed based spices. So far I am great with pumpkin, sunflower seeds, fennel seeds and hemp. I am also mildly obsessed with hemp. It’s pretty much a healthy nutrient dense omega 3 packed powerhouse of a little seed. It has a great amount of protein and recently I have had about a spoonful a day in the morning shortly after getting up and before I do any physical activity and I’ve felt great doing this.

While I am quickly becoming a hemp addict, I also adore fennel seeds and have seriously missed cooking with them. When living in Italy I realized my love for them as they are prevalent in most sausages and salami made there. The sweet slightly licorice flavor adds a depth to every dish that brings out the other flavors and warms up the body.

 

 

If you’ve followed along for a while you’ll also know that I love to cook with other warming spices like cinnamon and turmeric which are both great anti-inflammatory spices and not to mention packed with cozy flavors. I added garlic powder and oregano to the party to add a bit of pungency and lightness. When I think about these spices together some people may think it sounds strange, but I promise the results are mouth-watering.

I love eating these for breakfast, or any time of the day with fresh green onion and avocado. Well, let’s be honest about one thing, avocados are good with anything, but I have to say these five spice sausages are too! I imagine these going great with Paleo pancakes and maple syrup too!

 

 

FIVE SPICE SAUSAGES

 

Ingredients

1 lb ground organic pasture-raised turkey or pork
1 tablespoon coconut oil (for the pan)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seed (stage one reintroduction*)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Process

1. Heat iron skillet on the stove-top to medium and add coconut oil to grease.

2. Combine all the spices and salt in a large bowl. Add in the ground meat and use your hands to mix together. Once combined thoroughly form into individual patties about 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. I usually make around 8-10.

3. Add them in batches into the skillet. Cook for five minutes and then flip to the other side. They should be crispy brown on the bottom when flipped, if they aren’t wait another minute or two until the sausages brown, sometimes iron skillets get hotter than others.

4. Once they are cooked and browned on each side serve hot!

 

ENJOY!

 

Kari