Ingredients (makes six large pasties)
For the pastry:
• 125g butter (room temperature) • 125g lard (room temperature)
• 500g plain flour
For the filling:
• 8 sausages
• 1 packet streaky bacon • 1 small carton of button mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 1 tin of baked beans • A little oil for frying
• 1 egg for an egg wash
Method
Put the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter and lard – literally rubbing the butter and lard with
the flour between your finger tips so that they combine. When completed, your bowl will be a pile of golden crumbs.
Pour in some cold water, a little at a time, mixing it into the crumbs until you form a ball of dough. Don’t knead or handle the dough too much.
Wrap the dough in cling film or pop in a sandwich bag and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. This step allows the gluten in the flour to relax before you shape it.
Whilst the dough is in the fridge, use the time to prepare the filling. Cut the onion into small chunks and quarter the button mushrooms. Fry these together in a frying pan over a medium heat with a little oil (or butter if you prefer), • until they have softened and coloured a little. Place into a bowl.
Cut the bacon into 1cm pieces (I use a pair of scissors for ease) and fry in a little oil until crispy. Add to the onion and mushroom.
Take off the skins from the sausages and pull into pieces. Fry the sausage pieces in a little oil • until cooked. Add to the onion, mushroom and bacon pieces, give them a good mix together and leave to cool.
To make ahead, stop here: leave the mixture to cool, cover with some cling film and fridge until the morning. The pastry will also keep well overnight. This allows you to get a lot of the prep done ahead of time for an easier morning.
To make the pasties – preheat the oven to 200o/gas 6/fan 180o. Line two flat baking trays with a piece of bakng parchment.
Liberally flour your work surface and rolling pin. Divide your ball of pastry into 6 equal pieces.
Roll out each piece of pastry into a rough circle shape, about half a cm thick and 15cm in diameter (you don’t have to be at all accurate here – these measurements are just a guide).
Place a good size dollop of the fried mixture in the centre of the pastry and add a large, tablespoon sized amount of baked beans on top (straight from the can).
Fold the pastry in half and crimp the edges together so that the mixture can’t get out (forming a crescent pasty shape). Place on the prepared tray, and repeat for the remaining 5 pasties.
Crack the egg into a small dish and beat quickly. Brush the beaten egg over the pasties.
Bake for 20-30 mins.
When baked, the finished pasties will look a lovely golden brown all over.
After 20 minutes, if you have used 2 trays, they may need to be swapped over in the oven to give them all an even bake.
These delicious pasties are the perfect indulgence for a weekend cozy brunch. It looks like a long recipe, but it’s super-simple. Plus you can make the pastry and cook the filling the day before, so all you need to do is pop the pasties together and bake.
A full English inside some buttery pastry, served with lashings of tomato ketchup… what could be better?
Heather x
Heather Brown is on the committee of the Guild of Food Writers; a home economist with a passion for Dorset’s brilliant foodie scene. Heather runs Dorset Foodie Feed, championing Dorset’s food and drink businesses, as well as working with her food industry clients.
