As far as we're concerned, it's still comfort food season. But that doesn't mean you have to slum it - French chef and cookery writer Stephane Reynaud shares top pastry recipes:
Sausage Roll (serves 6)
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pâte brisée,
or 2 packets shortcrust (pie) pastry
2 cervelas Lyon sausage, or other fresh pork sausage
2 dry Picodon cheeses (soft-rind goat’s milk cheese)
1 bunch basil
12 thin slices of speck (smoked belly pork) 1 egg
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Cervelas filling
- Cook the cervelas sausages in boiling salted water for 30 minutes.
- Cut in half lengthways. Cut the Picodon cheeses into thin slices. Pluck the basil leaves.
- Arrange some basil leaves on one sausage half, then layer with half the cheese slices, cover with more basil leaves and top with the other half of the sausage, like a sandwich.
- Repeat with the second sausage and wrap each sausage in six slices of speck.
Assembly and cooking
- Whisk the egg. Roll out two rectangles of pastry 2 cm (3⁄4 inch) wider than the sausages and glaze the edges with the egg.
- Place 1 sausage on each rectangle and roll up, pressing firmly where the pastry overlaps. Close the ends by pinching them together.
- Arrange the sausage rolls on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Glaze with the egg, make a criss-cross pattern with the point of a knife, then sprinkle with the sesame seeds and cracked pepper.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 30 minutes.
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Pie Recipes
Chicken-Chorizo Pie (serves 6)
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pâte brisée,
or 2 packets shortcrust (pie) pastry
3 French shallots
150 g (51⁄2 oz) spicy chorizo
4 eggs
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) chicken breast fillet 200 ml (7 fl oz) thin (pouring) cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
100 g (31⁄2 oz/2⁄3 cup) fresh shelled peas Salt and pepper
EQUIPMENT
2 litre (70 fl oz/8 cup) pie dish
Chicken-chorizo filling
- Peel the shallots and chop finely.
- Cut the chorizo into small 5 mm (1⁄4 inch) cubes. Set aside 1 egg yolk for the glaze.
- Process the chicken breast in a food processor with the remaining eggs and leftover white, the cream and the olive oil until smooth.
- Incorporate the diced chorizo, shallots and fresh peas with a flexible spatula. Season.
Assembly and cooking
- Grease and flour the pie dish. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry dough until 3 mm (1⁄8 inch) thick and place it in the dish, with the edges hanging over the side by 2 cm (3⁄4 inch). Add the chicken–chorizo filling.
- Glaze the edges with the egg yolk. Roll out the remaining dough to make a second oval and use it to cover the pie. Seal the two ovals of pastry dough together by pinching the edges, decorate with the pastry offcuts and glaze the top.
- Place on a pre-heated heavy-based baking tray and bake at 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 1 hour.
Herb And Hazelnut Pie (serves 6)
250 g (9 oz) pâte feuilletée, or 1 packet puff pastry
2 eggplants (aubergine)
3 capsicums (peppers), in different colours 2 zucchini (courgettes)
4 small onions
2 sprigs rosemary
1 bay leaf
150 ml (5 fl oz) olive oil
2 bunches basil
100 g (31⁄2 oz) hazelnuts
Salt and pepper
1 egg
Vegetable filling
- Chop the eggplants, capsicums and zucchini into large cubes. Peel and finely chop the onions.
- Mix the vegetables together, add 1 sprig of rosemary and the bay leaf and drizzle with the olive oil.
- Arrange everything in a baking dish and bake for 3 hours at 150°C (300°F/Gas 2)— they should be well stewed down. Stir the vegetables regularly during cooking.
- Pluck and finely chop the basil leaves. Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and lightly toast at 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 5 minutes, then rub in a clean tea towel (dish towel) to remove the skins.
- Add them to the slow-cooked vegetables, along with the basil leaves. Season and allow to cool.
Assembly and cooking
- Divide the dough in half and roll out two rectangles of the same size until about 3 mm (1⁄8 inch) thick.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay one rectangle of dough on top. Spread the slow-cooked vegetables over the pastry dough, leaving a 1 cm (1⁄2 inch) border all around.
- Whisk the egg with 3 teaspoons of water and glaze the edges. Cover with the second piece of pastry. Seal the two rectangles of pastry dough together by pinching the edges with the back of a fork.
- Glaze the top of the pie and decorate with the remaining sprig of rosemary. Bake at 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 30 minutes.
Hungry for more? Check out Stephane Reynaud’s Pies and Tarts book for more of his mouthwatering recipes.