What better way to celebrate the picnic season than with these fantastic pies? Packed full of delicious pork and apples, they are the perfect choice. Make some to store in the freezer - then you'll always have something tasty for a last-minute picnic or summer lunch.
Hot water crust pastry
450g of plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
200ml of water
80g of butter
80g of lard
For the stuffing
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 apple, cored and grated (no need to peel)
1 handful of prunes, pitted, chopped (optional)
½ tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp of breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
For the filling
400g of skinned sausages or sausage meat
½ tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1) For the hot water crust pastry, combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Create a dip in the middle, add the egg to it and sprinkle a decent quantity of flour over the top.
2) Add the water, lard and butter to a pan and gradually bring to the boil over a medium heat. When the mixture is boiling, mix the liquid into the flour, using a knife to stir. Knead the dough until smooth and consistent in colour. Use straight away without resting, or it will become very hard and difficult to work with.
3) On a floured surface rollout the pastry to 1cm thickness. Cut out 8 rounds about 11.5cm across, and 8 rounds of 8cm. Use the larger rounds to line 8 holes in a muffin tin.
4) To make the stuffing, soften the onion, apple and garlic in a generous knob of butter until translucent, then add the prunes if using, rosemary and seasoning and stir for a couple of minutes.
5) Mix all the pie filling ingredients together and divide half into the 8 pastry cases and compress it down. Then add a layer of stuffing, followed by another layer of sausage meat.
6) Lightly wet the edges of the pies, and place a lid on top of each pie, crimping to seal the edges with your fingers. Brush some egg yolk over each pie to glaze and make a small cut in the middle of each pie to let the steam escape.
7) Bake for 40 minutes until golden and cooked through, then allow to cool before eating.