Ouroboros is the mythic/symbolic snake who eats his own tail. It is said to represent (among other things) cyclicality, the Eternal Return, primordial unity, and/or (in Jungian terms) the pre-ego state.

How does this relate to this recipe, you ask? It doesn’t. Not even a little. It was late, we were hungry, and this sounded like a tasty and fun thing to do. And it was! They’re really quick to make and come out of the oven looking like giant, sausage-filled bagels (yeah, I know: ’sausage-filled’ and ‘bagel’ are incompatible terms in the equation. I’ll just have to live with it.)

You can use any lean sausage and any cheese, and add in some minced pickled jalapenos or olives or whatever you can squeeze in. My only question is: what is the symbolic meaning of eating the snake that eats its tail?

Here’s a photo of the Sausage and Cheese Ouroboros below.

Ingredients:

1 roll (11 oz) Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf refrigerated dough
1 lb lean roll sausage (such as Bob Evans of Jimmy Dean)
4 slices cheese (I used Muenster)

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Remove the dough and gently stretch it out to double its length, then cut it in two. On a non-stick surface, flatten each piece of dough out to about 5 inches wide. Tear or cut each cheese slice into four strips and lay four strips along the length of the dough. Repeat with the other piece of dough. Set remaining cheese aside.

Divide the sausage in half and roll each piece between your hands to form a long ’snake’ about the same length as the dough. Place the sausage in the center of each piece and top with the remaining cheese strips. Bring the edges of the dough together and seal across the top. Form the dough into a circle and pinch the ends together. Place on a baking pan dusted with corn meal or flour.

Place pan on top shelf of oven and cook until dough is golden brown and sausage is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

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