Sausage, Pumpkin and Sage Pasties
This recipe ticks all the Bonfire Night boxes as far as I'm concerned. Warming, hearty, portable and you can use up all those scraps from pumpkin carving that you didn't want to throw away! Shop bought shortcrust pastry is a great short cut if your short on time. If you're not planning to eat this on the move, you can serve it with a lovely crunchy salad of red cabbage, apple and celery. Makes 6 pasties.
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 150g butter
- 100g lard grated
- 1 tsp salt
- 150-175 ml cold water
- 1 egg, beaten
For the Filling
- 6 sausages, skins removed
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 150g pumpkin, diced around 2cm square
- sage leaves
- 1 tbsp whole grain or Dijon mustard
- water
- salt and pepper
Method
To Make The Pastry
1.In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, lard and margarine. Rub the fat and flour together with your fingertips until the the mixture is a breadcrumb consistency.
2. Add enough water to bring the mixture together. It should come cleanly away from the sides of the bowl but still be firm enough to roll out.
3. Cover in cling film and chill for at least two hours
To Make the Filling
1 Add a small knob of butter to a frying pan and melt on a medium heat.
2.Add the onion and garlic and sweat for 3-4 minutes. Add the sausages, breaking them up in the pan until they resemble coarse mince.
3.Add 10 - 15 sage leaves and cook for around 30 seconds or until you can smell the sage
4. Add a tablespoon of whole grain mustard and a splash of water
5.Season well with salt and pepper to taste.
6. At this stage, stir through your raw diced pumpkin.
7.Allow the mixture to cool
To Assemble
1. Roll your pastry out to around 5mm thick on a floured work surface. Cut your pastry out into large circles
2. Fill generously, but be sure to leave a large border the entire way around
3. Fold over your pastry and crimp the edge. If you need some tips on how to crimp a pasty watch this:
4.Give your pasty a good egg wash, and it is ready for the oven
5. Bake it for 20 minutes at 200C/gas mark 6. Turn the oven down to 160C/gas mark 3 and cook for a further 20 minutes. You may need to cover the pasties with tin foil for the second stage to protect them from further browning.
6. When the pasties are done, cool for 10 minutes before eating to avoid scorched tongues.
