Make our beer-infused pastries for British Pie Week.
I have many a pie recipe up my sleeve, but none so easy as these malty, boozy, hoppy little sausage numbers. A cross between a pie and a sausage roll, these are the ultimate portable food and would sit rather nicely in any office lunchbox during British Pie Week. The key to making them extra tasty is using a decent quality beer. I've used Woodforde's Bure Gold, which is on the lighter side of bitter, and lends an almost caramelly beer flavour to the pastries. Pop a dollop of sweet pickle or relish on the side, and a bit of salad and you've got a real feast.
Sausage hoppers
(makes 9)
Ingredients
3 large onions halved and thinly sliced
5tsps brown sugar
1tsp fresh thyme
1tbsp low salt soy sauce
1 bottle light local ale
Crushed black pepper
450g good quality pork sausages
1 pack ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten, to glaze
Flour for rolling
Oil for frying
Method
Heat 1tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the onions and sugar and cook over a medium to high heat until brown and sticky. Add the thyme, soy sauce and ale and cook on a medium heat until the mixture has reduced to a thick chutney-like consistency. Add a little ground black pepper to taste. Set aside in a bowl to cool.
Remove the sausages from their skins and mush together in a bowl.
Place the pastry on a floured surface, roll out a tad to stretch it a bit then cut into nine equal pieces.
Pop a tablespoon of cooled onions on top of each piece of pastry then 1.5tbsp of sausagemeat. Bring the pastry up along the length of the filling and press together to seal. Press the short ends down to seal and chop off the extra pastry. Tuck the edges under and turn the pastry over – they'll be an oval shape.
Slash with a knife on top, place on a lined tray, glaze with egg and bake at 200C for 20 minutes.
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