BREAKFAST PASTY RECIPE

These delicious pasties are the perfect indulgence for a weekend cozy brunch. You can make the pastry and cook the filling ahead of time so all your need to do is pop the pasties together and bake. This breakfast pasty recipe is basically a full English inside some buttery pastry, served with lashings of tomato ketchup... what could be better?

INGREDIENTS

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. This technique involves rubbing the butter and lard with the flour between you 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 and mix 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, you can use this 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 and give them a good mix together. Once cooked, the off the heat and leave to cool.

(NB. To make ahead, 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 or the prep done ahead of time for an easier morning).

To make the pasties – preheat the oven to 200/gas 6/fan 180. Line 2 flat trays with a piece of baking parchment.

Liberally flour your work surface and rolling pin. Divide your ball of pastry into 6 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 tray.

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.