Tag: sausage

Sausage, leek and apple pie

On a whim, I decided to search for sausage pie on Flickr. I wanted to see how high up the list the photos of my sausage pie would be. I was kinda surprised at how many sausage pie photos appeared. My sausage pie photos appear fairly high in the list now. Score! Anyhoo, I saw a photo of a Sausage, apple and leek pie in the list and said to myself, I must have this pie!. Fortunately, the photographer linked to the recipe at Making Light. This morning, I attempted to make it myself. It is good.

So here’s the recipe as I’ve adapted it. In particular, I left out the saffron because that stuff is expensive. For the original, follow the link. Pictures follow.

Ingredients
  • 2 large leeks
  • 2 large Granny Smith apples
  • ¼ pound celery root
  • 1½ pounds bulk sausage (mixture of bulk breakfast sausage and leftover mild Italian bulk)
  • 4 tablespoons fine gauge tapioca
  • dry sherry
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • all purpose flour
  • salt
  • top and bottom crusts for pie (however you like to make/buy these)
Prep work
  • Peel and core apples
  • Slice apples to even ¼ inch thickness
  • Wash leeks (I actually found it easier to wash the leek after cutting lengthwise in next steps)
  • Cut leeks lengthwise, then into ⅓ inch pieces
  • Pare celery root
  • Slice finely
Cooking
  1. Preheat oven to 425 °
  2. Brown sausage, breaking it apart into small pieces
  3. Set aside
  4. Put leek and celery root in just enough water to cover the vegetables
  5. Bring to a boil and cook just until vegetables are wilted
  6. Drain, reserving broth
  7. Toss 3 tablespoons of tapioca with vegetables
  8. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan
  9. Add 4 tablespoons flour
  10. Stir until thick/done (i.e., make a roux)
  11. Add in vegetable broth, a splash of sherry, and salt to taste
  12. Give it a quick stir
  13. Add in vegetables
  14. Set aside to cool a bit
Assembling the pie
  1. Lay bottom crust in pie plate
  2. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons tapioca on bottom crust
  3. Dredge apples in flour
  4. Layer apples in compact circles, two levels for my deep pie
  5. Layer half the leek mixture on top
  6. Put in the sausage next
  7. Put remaining leek mixture on top
  8. Add top crust
  9. Vent the crust
Baking
  1. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes
  2. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or it appears done
  3. Let cool to solidify a bit

Italian Sausage Pie

Tried this recipe out the other night. It comes from Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Casseroles.

Recipe is what I made, and does not exactly match what’s in the cookbook.

  • 1½ pounds bulk sweet Italian sausage
  • 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
  • ½ chopped sweet onion
  • 6 teaspoons minced garlic from jar
  • 16 ounce package hot roll mix
  • 5 eggs
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • ½ of a 15 ounce carton ricotta cheese
  • ½ of a 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach
  • 2 4 ounce cans sliced mushrooms
  • 1 more egg
  • shredded Parmesan cheese
  1. Thaw spinach and drain
  2. Preheat oven to 350°
  3. Cook sausage, pepper, onion, and garlic in large skillet over medium heat until sausage is browned
  4. Prepare hot roll mix according to package directions through the kneading step (my hot roll package mix required another egg, as well as margarine)
  5. In a large bowl, beat five eggs
  6. Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella
  7. Stir in ricotta
  8. Stir in spinach (I forgot this step, and had to sorta mix it in later)
  9. Stir in sausage/pepper/onion/garlic mixture
  10. Stir in drained mushrooms
  11. Grease a 9 inch springform pan
  12. Roll ¾ of the dough into a 15 inch circle on a heavily floured surface
  13. Lay it into the springform pan, pressing the dough into the sides
  14. Sprinkle bottom of pie with ½ cup of the mozzarella
  15. Add sausage/cheese/egg/etc. mixture into pie
  16. Add remaining mozzarella to the top of the pie
  17. Roll the rest of the dough into a top pie crust
  18. Place top crust on top, then fold edges over and pinch to seal
  19. Beat last egg slightly
  20. Combine 1 tablespoon of water with egg
  21. Brush egg on top of pie and let dry for 5+ minutes
  22. Score the top of the pie in a diamond shape, but don’t cut all the way through the crust
  23. Sprinkle with Parmesan
  24. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, remembering first to take your oven off pre-heat
  25. Cool on a wire rack for 20+ minutes
  26. Remove springform pan side, cut into wedges, and eat

Overall the pie worked out pretty good, though it was a bit soupier than I expected. I forgot to take the oven off pre-heat status (I have an older range), so that may have affected this. It probably could have used a spice or two added, though I’m not really sure what spices go well with sausage.