sausage and bean rough puff pastry pie

No excuses, today is pie-weather, so i’m making pie.  Proper rough puff pastry and all.  A pastry pie like this sausage and bean rough puff pastry pie is an indicator that Autumn has officially begun.  Unlike the potato pie I made earlier in the month, I like to wait till after my birthday (which was on the 24th just in case you needed reminding) before I go into full autumnal mode but now we’re here, here it is! Not that i’m obsessed with the weather but it keeps doing this thing where when the sun comes out it’s hot and when the rain starts it’s properly cold.  Just make your mind up please!

This pie is rich and warming with its white wine gravy (not quite ready to bring out the red wine just yet) and has just the right combination of earthy vegetables to make it hearty enough for a decent Sunday lunch. I’m continuing to use the divine runner beans that were given to me by a friendly neighbour a couple of weeks back but i’m also using a tin of butter beans.  Butter Beans are my favourite beans as they’re so rich and creamy and they add a wonderful thickness to the sauce. As always i’m using a little Bisto gravy granules to make the sauce thicker and darker but you can leave this out if you’re not a fan.  I like what it does to the sauce and The Viking loves the taste so it’s win-win.  I’m also making the most glorious rough puff pastry to go on top.

I love making rough puff pastry.  You genuinely will never get a better tasting puff pastry than making it yourself and this is such an easy recipe that firstly you’ll wonder why you never made it before and secondly why people make such a fuss about making puff pastry.  The only rule for this is that everything needs to start and stay cold.  Put all your ingredients into the freezer, even the flour and if it’s warm where you are then work as fast as you can! Remember that puff pastry is all about the lamination and layers and this needs to be done fast and cold so don’t be afraid to pop it into the fridge between folds if you feel the butter is beginning to soften. Because this is the kind of thing that needs to be done in advance I think it takes one of those lazy Sunday’s or evenings when there’s nothing much to do but turn the radio on and make pastry.

for the filling

• olive oil and a little butter
• 6 sausages – rough chopped (i’m using cauldron veggie sausages but you can use whatever kinds of sausages you love)
• one onion – chopped
• 4 garlic cloves – whole, skin on
• one large carrot – cut into battons
• 1 leek – halved lengthways and then thickly sliced
• a handful of runner beans – chopped
• 1/4 cauliflower – chopped
• 2 celery stalks – chopped
• 6 new potatoes – roughly chopped
• 1 400g tin of butter beans
• 200ml white white
• 200ml good quality vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons Bisto gravy powder
• 1 teaspoon tomato puree
• seasoning and fresh herbs

for the pastry

• 60g butter – grated and then frozen
• 200g butter – grated and then frozen (I always use lightly salted butter)
• 350g cold plain flour (pop it in the freezer the night before you want to make this)
• roughly 150ml ice cold water mixed with a teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Let’s make the pastry first…Place the flour into a large bowl and using your fingertips, quickly rub in the 60g of butter, then add the water / lemon juice mix a tablespoon at a time.  You can stir this with a wooden spoon but I like to use my hand shaped like a claw as I can feel the flour and water begin to form the dough so I know how much liquid to add.  You want to add enough liquid to form a firm dough that isn’t too tacky.

Knead the dough fora couple of minutes then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for about 10 mins.

Flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a long rectangle with the short side nearest you, then sprinkle the bottom 2/3rds of the rectangle with half the grated frozen butter. (Push it down into the dough slightly.)  Fold over the top un-buttered third towards you and then fold the bottom third back over the top so that you have created 6 layers of dough/butter/dough/butter/dough/butter.

Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again into a rectangle and repeat the above with the remaining butter.  Roll it our again after this and fold, then wrap and refrigerate for a good hour.

Repeat the roll and fold process again three more times but don’t worry about refrigerating the dough between each fold.  if you work fast you really won’t need to.

After the 5th roll and fold, wrap it and pop it into the fridge for at least an hour before using. (You can freeze at this stage.)

Now it’s time to make the pie – I’m using a 30cm Falcon oblong deep pie dish but any kind of dish would work here.

In a large pan, gently heat a little olive oil and butter and when it’s melted add the sausages and brown them well, then set them aside, throw a little more oil into the pan and add the onions, celery and carrots and let them saute gently for 5 mins until they begin to soften, then add the rest of the veg and some fresh herbs (i’m using rosemary, thyme and lemon thyme) and salt and pepper and stir well.  Let them cook for 5 mins with the lid off and then 5 mins with the lid on, the veg should begin to soften.

Stir in the tomato puree and the tinned butter beans and then add the wine, stock and gravy powder if using.  Stir the sausages back in.  Then throw in the garlic.  Turn the heat down, place the lid on and let the stew bubble gently for 10 mins, then lid off for a further 5 mins. – Set aside to cool down by half.

Prepare your pie dish by rubbing it with butter and pre-heat the oven to 170C. Place a large baking tray into the oven.

Roll out your gloriously prepared rough puff pastry.  I like it quite thick but you need it to both line and cover the dish, which the above recipe will do.  Lay the pastry lining into the bottom of the pie dish and prick all over with a fork.

Pour the cooled pie filling into the dish, then lay the pastry over the top and seal the edges well and crimp as you like.  I like to brush the top of the pie with egg wash and then run some grooves around the pie dish to help the pastry rise.

Bake for 30 mins on the baking tray (this will help cook the bottom of the pie) or until the pastry is golden and crispy.

Eat and of course, enjoy!