I admit it, I am afraid of pastry. True, I will make biscuits on occasion, and sometimes dabble in pizza dough. Once or twice a year I will even be pushed into preparing my own pie dough in order to not have to eat a prepared holiday pie. But those are extreme times.
On days off, however, I always feel like taking on a challenge. Cooking something that will require a lot of time, concentration, and skill. The day had been gray and raining and it reminded me of my time in London a few years ago. It was almost always gray and slightly rainy while there. But one meal I grew to love and appreciate were the hand pies that have taken over the city. Sure, everyone has heard of the classic steak and kidney pie. But in the past couple years London has taken on a food revolution; pub food like fish ‘n chips and hand pies were revitalized.
Borough Market, a hub for unique and organic ingredients, artisanal items (like the best granola I’ve ever had), and pop-up carts selling hot hand pies, falafel, curries, and sausages, has essentially everything you could ever want to put in your mouth. I still dream about this place. And their pie cart? A thing of beauty, with classics like a fish pie, and contemporary flavors like roasted rabbit with rosemary and garlic scrapes. Ah the comeback of peasant and working class food. Love.
Back to pies. While a steak and kidney kidney pie sounded…interesting, I thought I would start with something fall-like (typical) and on the easier side.
Sausage and Apple Pie
Feeds about 8
Ingredients:
Pastry-
- 3 C. flour
- 1 Tsp salt
- 3/4 C. butter
- 1/4 C. plain yogurt (greek also works, whatever is in your fridge!)
- 3 Tbsp vodka, cold
- 3–6 Tbsp ice water
Filling-
- 1 onion, cut
- 10 sage leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 apples, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 medium sized mild Italian sausages
- 1 Tsp fennel seeds
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 can hard apple cider
1. For the pie dough, mix together the salt and flour in a large bowl. Cut butter into small pieces (as small as you can cut them!) and mix into the flour. Using a pastry blender or your hands incorporate the butter until the mixture has a sandy texture to it.
2. Stir in the yogurt and vodka. Slowly (one Tbsp at a time) add the water until the dough comes together. Break into two balls, wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
3. Remove the casings from the sausages and brown using a large sauce pan. Add fennel seeds.
4. After sausage is cooked through, place aside but keep the sausage grease. Cook the onion in the sausage grease until soft.
5. Add sage and apples. Cook until soft. Remove and add to sausage.
6. Using the same pan, deglaze the pan with the hard apple cider and add apple cider vinegar.
7. Reduce until thickened. Add to sausage-apple mixture.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter one large spring form pan (or just a regular pie pan).
9. Roll out the dough big enough to fully cover the pie pan. Ease the dough into the pan and place in the fridge for ten minutes.
10. Roll out other dough in a circle big enough to cover the whole top of the pie.
11. Pull out pie pan and pour in filling. Cover with second pie dough and cut slits in the middle.
12. Brush the edges of the pie with an egg wash. It will keep the dough together and give the pie a pretty golden look once cooked.
13. Bake for about 40 minutes or until top of pie has a golden edge.
14. Allow pie to rest for 5 minutes before releasing the spring form.
15. Serve with a small side salad.
A Girl, Her Dog, and Her Kitchen 