So I decided to put them in to a pie. Pies are one of those things, much like casseroles, that are pretty easy to do. They are largely formulaic to the point of being boring (if it wasn't for the fact that they taste great that is!) - that’s not to say they cant be experimental, or wacky, more that if you have a solid ingredient base, then you really can't go wrong. In this case, sausage and apple being a tried and tested pairing, it was just a case of going through the motions and slapping it in some pastry.
Once again, I didn't make the pastry myself - its something I neither have the time, or any real great inclination to get involved with. Shop bought ready-to-roll works fine for my pies, and I just let the filling do all the hard work.
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Anyway, as I said, its a pretty formulaic thing - Start with a savoury base using butter and some aromatics (in this case, as often, leeks), then add some flour and a bit of flavour (whether it be tomato purée for a red meat casserole, or something else - this time wholegrain mustard, because I love mustard and pork), add the primary filling then cover with stock (or other flavoured liquids such as alcohol - even water will work though), reduce and then bang into a pie!
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Ingredients
- 10-12 sausages (judging by the size of your pie)
- 1 large apple (I have cooked this twice - the first time I used two apples, and it was just a touch too apple-y for my liking, so reduced the second time around), roughly chopped
- 1 large tablespoon butter
- 1-2 tablespoons of plain flour
- 1 large leek
- Pastry (make your own or shop bought)
- 150ml cider (I do this by eye - I bought a normal sized bottle of cider, but guess it was something like 100-150 ml I added)
- 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- 200ml stock (vegetable, chicken, whatever. Cubes are fine)
Method
Pre-heat the oven according to your pastry - the filling will be cooked by the time it hits the oven, so we are just heating and cooking the pastry.- Cook the sausages - either in the oven or grill, pan
- Whilst cooking, melt the butter in a heavy frying pan and cook the leeks with a generous pinch of salt until soft and starting to brown
- Add the chopped apples and heat for a few minutes
- Add the plain flour and stir through to bring together the juices
- Add the mustard and stir through to form a paste with the leeks
- Once the sausages are cooked, add them and any juices to the pan and stir through to mix together
- add the stock and the cider to the pan, and simmer gently on a medium heat to reduce - once reduced to a pie like thickness (well, a bit less viscous actually, as it will continue to thicken whilst cooling) take off the heat and leave to cool
- Put together with your pastry and slap in the oven to cook. Serve with other vegetables, mash, whatever..
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