It’s time for the ‘Life of Pie’, with these tasty, good value pies for the colder weather. Although originally dating back to ancient Egypt, pies became a very British staple meal in the medieval period. They were at first used as a means of preserving meat, with the meat fillings encased in inedible pastry known as “coffins”, before becoming the winter warmer comfort food that we know today.
Ingredients - serves 4
8 top-notch thick pork sausages - whatever type you fancy
2 medium leeks, washed, trimmed and fairly thickly sliced
2 crunchy eating apples (e.g. Cox’s), cored and roughly chopped
2 tbs plain flour 1 tbsp butter 175ml British cider
175ml chicken stock (one stock cube dissolved in hot water)
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
320g pack of ready-rolled puff pastry (from chiller cabinet)
1 small egg, lightly beaten, for glazing
Goes well with mashed potato and green vegetables.
Enjoy!
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan (or use air-fryer). Put the sausages in a small roasting tin and bake for 30 mins, until browned and cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large frying pan and fry the leeks for 8-10 mins until nearly soft. Add the apples and cook for another 1 minute, then stir in the flour and cook for another 1-2 mins. Gradually stir in the stock and then the cider to make a thickish sauce. Add the mustard, taste and season, and then bubble for about a minute until the sauce is fairly thick.
- Slice the cooled sausages and divide between 4 small pie dishes/tins or 4 medium ramekin dishes – having first checked the dishes are the right size for you to get 4 pie lids out of the sheet of puff pastry. Fill up the dishes with the sauce.
- Unroll your sheet of puff pastry and cut out 4 pie lids, just slightly larger than the tops of your pie dishes (can use upturned dishes as templates). Lay the pastry over the tops of the filled pie dishes, press the edges around the rims of the dishes and trim off any excess. Glaze the pastry with the beaten egg and make two small slits in the top of each pie with a sharp knife. Bake for 20-25 mins until the pastry is risen and golden. Allow to cool for 5mins before serving.