Picnic pie

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only
Spend some time making these hearty pies to store in the freezer – then you’ll always have something delicious for a last-minute picnic or summer lunch

Prep:25 mins
Cook:50 mins

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 631
fat 44g
saturates 18g
carbs 35g
sugars 6g
fibre 2g
protein 26g
salt 3.39g

Ingredients

butter, for greasing
2 x 500g blocks puff pastry
350g sausagemeat or skinned sausages (pork & apple variety works well)
2 apples, peeled, cored and grated
2 onions, grated
2 tbsp thyme leaves
16 thick slices cooked ham, fat trimmed from edge
4 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 eggs, beaten to glaze

Tip

Make it spicy
Use merguez, or sausages containing chilli, as part of the sausagemeat mix. Use sliced cooked chicken in place of the ham, replace the apple with chopped dried apricots and leave out the mustard.Foolproof freezing
Freeze the pies already cooked and cooled, and the pastry will hold well. Defrosting the pie takes about 6 hours in total. To check if the pie is ready to eat, push a knife into the centre; it should come out cold but not freezing and the pie shouldn't feel solid. If it's a hot day, it's safer to defrost the pie in the fridge overnight.

Method

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Butter 2 x 20cm springform tins or deep, loose-based tart tins. Cut one-third of the pastry off each block. Roll out the smaller pieces of pastry, then cut a circle from each to make the top of the pie – use a tin base as a template. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry from each block and line the tins, leaving a good amount of excess hanging over the edge.
Mix the sausagemeat with the apples, onions and thyme, and divide into 4 portions. Line each pie with 4 slices of ham and spread 1 tbsp mustard over the ham in each pie. Add a quarter of the sausagemeat to each pie and press down to level it. Add another layer of ham and mustard to each, then the rest of the sausagemeat and level off the tops.
Put the pastry lids on top and brush with beaten egg. Fold the excess pastry over and press gently. Trim off any wodgy bits to make the lid look as attractive as possible. Brush again with beaten egg and cut a steam hole in the centre. Bake for 50 mins or until a skewer pushed in through the steam hole comes out very hot. Cool in the tin for 15 mins, then release the sides of the tin and cool completely on a rack (still on the bases). Serve cold, cut into wedges with pickles and salad. Or slide off the base and wrap tightly in foil, then cling film and freeze.