This sausage and mushroom pie with a parmesan crust has been made in celebration of National Pie Day which was on the 23rd Jan. It’s actually an American tradition (in the UK, we have National Pie Week later in the year) and I also believe that it’s a celebration of sweet pies but if I’m honest these ‘national days’ are just so ridiculous and it’s not as though we need a specific day to celebrate the humble pie. Every day is pie day.
I love pie
It’s like a sandwich in pastry form – sandwiches being in my opinion, the best food. A deep filling of your favourite things surrounded by crusty pastry. Sweet or savoury, fruity or meaty they are like a food surprise. There are so many pastry types to choose from and it really all depends on your filling and the occasion for eating (also your mood.) Is it a hand-held pie? Is it a picnic pie?
This sausage and mushroom pie uses a very basic shortcrust pastry but with the addition of a heap of parmesan which just lifts it from ordinary to extraordinary. Pastry takes seconds in a food processor but I like to make it by hand. The filling is very basic and unbelievably simple and if I’m honest, ridiculously fast to make! Just vegetarian sausages, mushrooms and shallots.
sausage and mushroom pie with a parmesan crust
- 200g plain flour (you could use 100g plain white flour and 100g wholemeal)
- 75g butter
- 25g parmesan cheese – finely grated
- a little cold water to mix
for the filling
- 6 vegetarian sausages (I used Cauldron Lincolnshire sausages) cut into 4 large pieces
- 100g button mushrooms
- a large banana shallot or 1 small onion – chopped
- 1 clove of garlic – grated
- one tablespoon plain flour
- 500ml stock – made up of 300ml vegetable stock, 200ml white wine, 1, teaspoon yeast extract such as marmite
- olive oil and seasoning
You will need a shallow pie dish – I used an 18cm metal pie dish which I buttered well.
Start with the pastry. Place the flour and butter into a large bowl and rub it together with your fingertips until it becomes the texture of bread-crumbs. Next rub in the finely crated parmesan until it’s combined well. With your hand shaped like a claw, add a little dash of cold water and start to circulate your clawed hand in the flour to bring it together into a dough.
You may need to add a little more water to help bring it all together but do this a dash at a time. You should be able to clean the bowl with the ball of dough.
Flatted the dough into a disk, wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for at least 30 mins (can be stored in the fridge for 48 hours or in the freezer for a month.)
To make the filling, heat a little oil in a pan and gently sauté the sausages until golden brown, then remove the sausages and set aside.
Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan. Sauté them until the onions are soft and the mushrooms have a little colour. Add the crushed garlic and sauté for a for minutes.
Tip the sausages into the pan along with some salt and pepper and a little fresh rosemary and stir well. Stir in the flour and ensure that everything is coated before pouring in the stock.
Let the stock bubble away for 10 minutes, then take the pan off the heat and set aside whilst you roll out your pastry.
You need to divide your dough into two and I find it easier to form each one into a round disk as it makes it easier to roll into the final shape you need. Flour your work surface and roll out two disks a little larger than the pie dish. Lay one disk into the pie dish and trim the edges.
Make a quick egg wash by beating an egg with a splash of milk. Pre-heat the oven to 170C (fan)
Pour the cooled pie filling into the base of the pie dish and brush the edges of the pastry. Carefully lay the second disk onto the pie filling and crimp the edges of the pie. Brush the top of the pie with egg wash and bake for 35 mins or until the top of the pie is gloriously golden.
Eat and of course, enjoy!
