大象传媒

Yvonne says: "This is a delicious creamy and crunchy pie. Serve with plenty of vegetables as a mid-week winner or weekend showstopper!"

Ingredients (Serves 4 people, Makes 2 pies)

For the inside filling:

• 2 small onions or 8 banana shallots, chopped
• Large bunch of asparagus, chopped in 1cm cubes
• 200g kale leaves or chard, chopped in 1cm cubes
• Small packet of fresh sage, finely chopped
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 8 sausages, chopped
• 150ml double cream
• 100ml water
• (Optional) pinch of tarragon

For the Shortcrust Pastry:

• 300g plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 100-125ml cold water
• 75g olive oil
• 2 egg yolks (1 for dough mixture, 1 for brushing the pastry)

Method:

For the filling:

1. Blanch the asparagus, and chard leaves or kale, then leave to one side.
2. Fry the chopped sausages until cooked and leave aside on a plate with kitchen paper to drain excess grease.
3. Fry the onions or shallots.
4. Place the sausages back in the pan. Then continue frying, and add sage leaves, wholegrain mustard, (optional tarragon), water, cream, and finally salt and pepper to taste.
5. Turn off the heat and leave aside in the pan.

To make the pastry dough:

1. Pre-heat the oven / air fryer to 180 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix flour and salt together. Make a well.
3. Pour in olive oil, stir, and then gently pour your cold water in, then add 1 egg yolk. Keep on mixing while it forms a rough dough. If it is too dry, add a little more water and olive oil.
4. Flour the surface and roll out the dough. You will need plenty of space to roll out as the dough will be quite wide! The thickness needs to be like a 10p coin.
5. Place your pie tin on top and cut out an extra 5cm round the edges with a serrated knife. Do that twice, so that you have two beautiful rolled pieces of dough.
6. Transfer them onto your greased pie tins and cut the edges outwards, not inwards, with your serrated knife. Prick the inside wall with a fork.
7. Add baking paper on top and place dried chickpeas inside. Bake blind for about 6 minutes in the oven / 4 minutes in the air fryer.
8. Quickly roll out the remaining pastry into 18 thin strips – this can then be used for a lattice topping.
9. Take out the pies from the oven /air fryer, and remove the chickpeas and baking paper. Return to the oven / air fryer for a further 2-3 minutes until the base crust is lightly crispy.
10. Add the filling mixture inside.
11. Place the strips in a lattice pattern on top. Cut out the edges with your serrated knife, and then generously brush with your egg yolk wash.
12. Bake for 12-15 mins in oven / 10 mins in your air fryer.
13. Once it is cooled, cut in half and take the pie out of the tin and you will have a lovely view of the filling plus the beautiful pastry holding its place! Serve with lots of vegetables and enjoy!

Top Tips:

• Shallots are easier to peel if you first soak them in hot water for 5 minutes and then drain.
• Shortcrust pastry is suitable for freezing for up to three months.
• You can use oil instead of butter to make an extra crunchy pastry crust!
• Shop-bought alternatives taste great too, but Yvonne's recipe avoids any ultra-processed ingredients.
• It's always a good idea to keep your dough chilled to avoid a pasty, dense dough, and to prevent your crust from slumping when baking.
• You can use two sheets of baking paper with a light sprinkling of flour before rolling out your dough to help prevent your pastry from sticking to a rolling pin (a ceramic rolling pin helps keep your dough cool too!)
• Use a spare blob of dough or baking paper to press your dough down in the pie dish to help avoid any tears when baking.
• Raw rice is a great alternative to dried chickpeas as a baking weight and can be re-used - just don't boil it after!
• I prefer to use egg yolk for my egg wash as it helps it reach a lovely golden colour.