bramley apple and sausage pie

… so i’ve started working with a personal trainer.  It’s been nearly 3 months now and I see him twice a week.  It’s one of those things that i’ve felt i’d always wanted to try because i’m pretty terrible at self-motivation and my tired old bones need a lot of work.  I feel pretty good about the whole thing and incredibly for me I’m actually keeping up the work and looking forward to each session… we meet stupidly early, outdoors in the local park, whatever the weather and train really really hard… it feels a little bit like i’m having a secret affair as each session ends with me out of breath and very sweaty but of course it’s nothing of the sort.  What’s interesting about it is that i’m learning all kinds of things about what my old body is capable of… and what it’s not quite ready to do yet.  There are some sessions where I absolutely hate him and then other sessions where I hate myself and i’ve been through the calf strains and the fudgy knee but i’ve come out the other side feeling renovated and ready for anything. There’s still a long way to go but I have to say that I’m well and truly pleased with myself… the only thing I really need to do now is sort out the eating habits… oh well, these things need to be approached one pie at a time I feel…

bramley apple and sausage pie with cheddar pastry
the good people at Bramley Apples have been in touch and asked a bunch of us fortunate food-bloggers to develop some recipes over this next year, to promote the deliciousness and versatility of the humble and iconic Bramley…   We’ve been growing and eating the Bramley exclusively in the UK for over 200 years and because it contains a higher acid content and lower sugar levels than most other apples it produces a stronger, tangier taste that retains its flavour when cooked.  It also has that wonderful ‘melt in the mouth’ texture which is truly unique to the Bramley.  This also makes it the perfect bed-fellow for the good old sausage as the tanginess counteracts the juicy fattiness of the sausages whilst the sweet caramelised onions balance the whole pie into pure perfection!

The other bloggers taking part in the campaign are Maison Cupcake, Lavender and Lovage, A Mummy Too, Little Miss Katy and Chelsea Mama and we’ve been given 3 months each during the forthcoming year, with Sarah from Maison Cupcake and I posting recipes in the same months so hopefully we’ll be showing you how to use the wonderful Bramley in a glut of creative ways, so please do look out for our posts.

I am kicking off this campaign with this stunning pie because it just so happens to be Bramley Apple Pie Week on the 12th – 18th October.  Not that one needs a special occasion to bake a pie but it’s a nice excuse to celebrate…

for the shortcrust cheddar pastry
200g plain flour
75g slightly salted butter
25g strong cheddar cheese – finely grated
a little cold water to mix

for the filling
6 sausages – i’m using some traditional Lincolnshire sausages
3 large bramley apples – peeled and cut into large wedges
1 large onion – peeled and thinly sliced
plenty of fresh thyme (lemon thyme will work wonders here)
a glass of white wine
butter and olive oil

i’ve used a 20cm fluted flan dish but any pie dish would work

pre-heat the oven to 170C

start with the pastry – sieve the flour into a large bowl and then rub the butter into it using your fingertips.  Once you have something resembling the texture of breadcrumbs mix in the grated cheese – again with your fingers

add a little cold water – i’d say roughly 4 tablespoons – and start to bring the dough together.  I use a round knife to start and then get in with the hand in a claw-shape – bring the dough together until the bowl is dry – add more water if you need to but only a drop at a time

flatten the dough out into a large circle, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins whilst you make the filling

pop your sausages into a roasting tin and roast gently for 10 mins until they have started to cook through and colour a little – then set aside

heat a little butter and olive oil in a pan and throw in the sliced onions, stir around, tuen the heat down and let the onions gently simmer away for about 15 mins, stirring regularly, then turn the heat up, throw in a teaspoon if sugar and the thyme and let the onions simmer again for another 15 minutes, again stirring frequently.  The onions should start to colour nicely.  Pour in the white wine and let it evaporate and cook again for another 15 minutes and you should now have nicely golden onions – set aside

halve your pastry and then roll out the first half into a large circle and line your pie tin, prick with a fork and line with parchment and baking beans, then cook for 10 mins just to start the pastry off

remove from the oven and remove the baking beans and now it’s time to build your pie… lay in your sausages, apple wedges and onions – i’ve gone for a fanned out circular method but you can be as random as you like

roll out the raining pastry for a lid, seal the edges with a little beaten egg and milk and create some pastry leaves then brush the top with the egg wash mixture

bake for 20 mins or until the pastry is golden

i’m linking this pie to the lovely Pastry Challenge, hosted by United Cakedom and Jen’s Food

eat and of course, enjoy!