Sausage, cider and potato pie

Matthew was away and his parents were in town, the meat eaters out numbered the lone veggie… so I decided to knock out some flesh dishes… we had roast beef and yorkshires one night, and the next I made this FABULOUS pie!

I nabbed the recipe from the Pieminister cook book which is on my review pile… watch out for the review and giveaway later in the week, but letmetellya i’m thirsty for more after this experience.

I’m usually very nervous about making my own pastry, so don’t bother and buy ready made. But this particular pie called for suet-based pastry and the book said it was the easiest of all to make.

This turned out to be true. With the help of my mixer I produced a lovely pastry that was crisp and golden once cooked. I was exceptionally proud.

There was SO much juicy sausage filling, flecked with nuggets of potato and apple in a fragrant cider sauce. The kitchen really did smell gooooooooood.

Sam was treated to a variety of quorn products instead – which he loves so I didn’t feel too guilty taking a brief swerve down the meat highway 😉

Sausage, cider and potato pie – From Pieminister by Tristan Hogg & John Simon

For the suet pastry

400g plain flour
a pinch of salt
200g suet
120-150ml milk

Put the flour and salt into a bowl and stir in the suet. Gradually stir in enough milk to make a fairly stiff dough – be sure to add it very slowly or you might find the mixture has suddenly become saturated. If this happens just add more flough.

Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured board and knead for a couple of minutes, until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes before use.

For the pie filling

500g new potatoes, cut into slices 6-8mm thick
25g butter
1 onion, sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 tsp sugar
100ml cider
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
500g herby sausages
handful of grated cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten, to glaze

Cook the sliced potatoes in boiling water until tender, then drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and cook gently until softened. Stir in the apple and sugar and cook until the apple slices are tender but sill hold their shape.

Pour in the cider and simmer until almost completely evaporated.  Stir in the mustard, season and remove from heat.

Slit the sausages open and peel off the skins. Mix the sausage meat with the potatoes, using your hands to break it up a little. Finally, stir in the warm onion and apple to give a loose mixture.

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick. Use to line a pie tin and then fill with the sausage and apple mixture. Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg.

If you like, you can add the cheese at this stage, pushing it down into the filling to make cheesy pockets. Roll out the rest of the pastry to about 3mm thick and use to cover the pie, trimming off the excess and pressing the edges together to seal. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and then make a couple of holes in the centre to let out the steam.

Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is cooked through – check by inserting a skewer in the centre; it should come out hot.