Goodness knows why I chose to start making them so late, but it was after midnight before I’d finished photographing my piping hot pasties! Now, I can guess what you’re thinking. “You said that Saturday was pie day”. Yes I did. Truth be told, I had my heart set on a big steak and ale pie with a deep, dark gravy and tender pieces of fatty beef within. No sooner had I made my decision and begun to plan my recipe, then I was distracted by a recipe that looked like lots of fun. So I write to you now with mixed feelings because first of all, I’ve made some pasties which are a type of pie, but not what I had planned, and secondly, the recipe is not my own. The last point is particularly hard for me to admit because I so wanted to share with you a pie recipe of my own design. However, I won’t dwell on it because the recipe turned out to be magnificent and has given me lots of ideas for future pastry-based concoctions!
Since my overriding intention is to share good food and ideas that really work, it would be a shame to omit a good recipe just because it didn’t originate in my butter-filled mind. It would also be downright dishonest to claim this joyous medley of ingredients as my own. I thoroughly enjoyed testing this recipe out and was delighted with the results. My only issue was the timing of the cooking. I’d started very late and this meant that there was no daylight left when it came to photographing the end product. Food doesn’t look its best when photographed at night and the yellow tinge, coupled with shadows, gives things an unappealling look. I decided to go ahead regardless. My photography is anything but professional, but my insistence on showing what actually comes out of the oven pushed me to do my best. The fact that the spotlights in the kitchen have stopped working means that for the next couple of recipes, I’ll be trying to take pictures while the sun is still out. Meanwhile, let me assure you that this recipe is well worth trying and that cooking the pasties late at night was oddly exciting. I think I’d enjoy being a nocturnal pie man.
Cheesy bacon and leek pasties
1 pack puff pastry
250g smoked bacon lardons
2 leeks (sliced)
150g Cheddar cheese (grated)
1 Golden Delicious apple (peeled and finely cubed)
1 potato (peeled and finely cubed)
75ml double cream
1 egg (beaten)
1 tspoon Dijon mustard
vegetable oil
knob of butter
pepper
Fry the bacon lardons in a little vegetable oil until brown and crispy and then add the leeks with the butter. Cook them until soft and then stir in the double cream and the mustard. Grind plenty of black pepper in at this point. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese has completely melted. Now it’s time to fold in the apple and potato. They should be uncooked when added.
Flour your work surface and rolling-pin and roll out the pastry until it is about half a centimetre thick. Place a small plate on top and cut round it. Take a large spoonful of the cheesy mixture and place it on one half of the pastry circle. With some water, wet the edges of the pastry and bring the empty half to meet this edge. Press down firmly and use a fork to help seal all the way around. You’ll have to crimp the edges now by folding over the pastry a little at a time from the edge inwards. This will create a good seal and prevent all of the filling oozing out during cooking.
Brush the whole pasty with egg wash and bake in the oven at 170 degrees Celsius, on the middle shelf, for forty-five minutes. I would let these beauties cool for a few minutes before serving. They also taste great cold. I reckon I’ll be making some mini versions for a picnic soon!
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