Food: Round-Up for National Pie Week (& A Sausage Roll Disaster)

I love a good sausage roll, with Gregg’s ones being my ultimate treat on a Saturday afternoon shopping as a teen. I’ve long since graduated onto ‘better’ varieties (there’s a local bakery chain in Northampton that does the best sausage rolls, though flaky pastry isn’t the most elegant of snack choices!). One thing I hadn’t tried, however, is attempting to make my own.

Until now that is! Challenged by Jus’ Rol to create an interesting ‘pie’ to celebrate National Pie Week (the best week in my opinion). I decided on creating my very own ultimate sausage roll. And it was delicious – if a bit ‘deconstructed’…

If you’re interested, to make my sausage ‘roll’ I rolled out 100g puff pastry, spread with 1tsp mustard, and topped with carmelised onions (soften half a sliced onion in a little oil until golden, then add 1/4 tsp sugar and quickly fry until sticky). I then squeezed the meat out of two sausages, rolled a little thinner, placed on top of the onions and attempted to roll the pastry round the filling before baking at 200C for around 20 minutes. Turns out that I hadn’t rolled it quite thin enough, quite wide enough. So the pastry stayed open, then came completely undone in the oven. Learn from my mistakes people! Or eat a very yummy, very messy, pastry slice and sausage meat filling…

(As a sidenote, I think I’ve finally, finallyyyyy perfected my recipe for tomato-free baked beans. I’ll be posting the recipe soon!)

Now we’ve got that disaster out of the way, let’s talk pies.

For me, the ultimate pie is sold by a local butcher here in Kent; stuffed full of chicken and ham, with a thick and creamy sauce and crisp golden pastry, it’s comfort food at its best. For those of you unable to get to my butchers, I created a super-easy cheat’s version using condensed soup and ready-rolled pastry. Whilst it’s not quite so indulgent, it definitely still hits the spot!

Speaking of chicken pies, I’ve got a huge amount of other chicken pie recipes in my go-to list. One of my little sister’s favorite meal is my Chicken & Chorizo Pie, and I have to admit it’s the perfect combination of spicy, flavourful and comforting. Will also made some amazinggg Harissa Chicken Pasties…so good!

Then there’s the no-pastry pie. As a mashed potato lover this is always a good option (though pastry would win, every time). I don’t think anything can beat a good cottage/Shepherd’s pie, and I made the absolute ultimate version back in the summer. I admit it took a good three hours (plus the Sunday roasting time) but it was absolutely, completely and utterly worth it. And of course, Jamie’s Fish Pie, packed with veg and lighter than your traditional version, is a firm favorite in my recipe list.

But of course, any pie is always a good shout!

*Post in collaboration with Jus Rol, all opinions are my own as always. I just really, really love pie.

Are you a fan of pies? What’s your favorite pie filling?