Mushroom and Cider Pasties

Admittedly this was inspired by Nigel Slater's recent post on the Guardian. The pies look delicious but we weren't so sure about the blueberry/ mushroom combo. So we have created our own filling combo-mushrooms with cider and tallegio and rosemary.

Like our other recipes, we encourage readers to use alternative cheeses/ herbs/ spices etc and play with the proportions to suit individuals' tastes. We used rosemary here, but we think parsley would also be a complementing fit (if you are using parsley, add it towards the end of cooking the mushrooms, alongside mustard rather than upfront with the onion / garlic etc). And that melted tallegio is devine! If preferred, try the recipe with a strong/ sharp/ mature cheddar or gruyere or...

As for the pastry, Nigel Slater's puff is just amazing! We added an extra egg to the dough instead of applying egg wash to the pie before baking as it adds richness and colour to the pastry but you can also follow the original recipe. Otherwise, we would not change anything of it, except, if preferred, a few leaves of thyme/ rosemary mixed into the dough.

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry

175g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

A pinch of sea salt

100g unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 egg, lightly beaten

A small splash of milk

For the filling

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp paprika

A handful of rosemary, leaves only, chopped

Small pinch of chili flakes (optional)

300g mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tsp sweet mustard ( or 2 tsp english mustard and 1 tsp honey)

150-200ml cider

Salt and pepper to taste

120g Tallegio, sliced (or mature cheddar / gruyere / …)

DIRECTION

1. Prepare the pastry by adding flour, baking powder and sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Add and rub in the butter the flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolk, followed by a small splash of milk. Form a dough ball, cover it with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. In the mean time, prepare the filling. Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, , rosemary, paprika and chili flakes (optional) and cook for 1 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add cider and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Then stir in the mustard and add salt and pepper to taste.Cook for a further 3 – 5 minutes, or until the juice is reduced to a really thick consistency. Let cool. (too much liquid and hot filling will result in pies with soggy bottoms / tears when filling the pastry cases so reduce the juice as much as possible!)

3. Preheat the oven to 200C.

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly flour-dusted surface with a flour-dusted rolling pin to approximately 24cm x 24cm in size. Cut into 4 equal squares. Fill each with a quarter of the cooled mushroom filling, then top each with 30g sliced tallegio.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 - 35 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and golden brown.

6. Serve with a leafy salad.