Chicken strudels with mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 220 g raw sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 220 g raw chicken sausages, casings removed
• 220g unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 450 g of champignons
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 package (220 g) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 0.5 cup fresh bread crumbs (see cooking tip)
• 1 package (24 sheets) filo pastry, thawed
• Plain breadcrumbs

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. If the sausages are coarsely ground, place the ground meat in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until finely ground.
3. In a large 12-inch skillet, heat 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 4-6 minutes, until softened but not browned. Add the meat and flake it with a fork, breaking up any clumps and cooking for 5-7 minutes, or until all the meat is browned.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms. Wipe the caps with a slightly damp paper towel or sponge to remove any dirt (do not wash). Trim the stems, then coarsely chop the caps and stems. Add the mushrooms, fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper to the minced meat and cook for 10 minutes, until the mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates. Set aside to cool, about 10 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and fresh breadcrumbs, and season with salt and pepper to taste. The amount of salt will depend on how salty the sausages are.
5. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 12 tablespoons of butter. Unroll the phyllo dough and keep it covered with a slightly damp (not wet!) kitchen towel. Transfer one sheet of phyllo to a board, lightly brush it with melted butter, and sprinkle with a teaspoon of dry breadcrumbs.
6. Place a second sheet of filo pastry on top, brush with oil, and sprinkle with dry breadcrumbs; repeat to form a stack of five sheets of filo pastry. Place the stack with the long side facing you, and line the bottom edge with a strip of meat filling about 2.5 cm wide (about 1/3 of the total filling). Fold the sides in and roll the stack of pastry away from you into a tight roll.
7. Place it seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with butter and score the top diagonally at 2.5 cm intervals. Make two more of these strudels and place them on the baking sheet.
8. Bake the strudels for 20-30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once to ensure even baking. Cool slightly, cut into slices through the slits, and serve warm.
   
   

   Culinary advice

   
   Fresh breadcrumbs make the filling more moist than breadcrumbs, while breadcrumbs help create a more flaky crust. To make your own breadcrumbs, remove the crusts from sliced ​​white bread, cut the crumb into cubes, and place it in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until fine crumbs form.