Bacon, Leek and Potato Pasties (#GreatBloggersBakeOff2014 Week #7)

Welcome to Week 7 of the Great Bloggers bake Off my bake along linky which runs alongside the Great British Bake Off. This week is all about pastry again (when is there going to be another cake week?!) and the categories will be:

Signature: Savoury Parcels
Technical : Kouign Amann
Showstopper : Eclairs 

Therefore for this weeks  blogging bake off, please feel free to link up any savoury pastry parcel, technical if you are brave enough and eclairs or any other choux pastry bake will be fine.

I decided to make some pasties for my entry this week, something I have never made before but as I have more luck with my pastry than choux pastry, and I do not have the time or inclination cannot be bothered to make an kouign amann, then a savoury pastry parcel it was! I made some shortcrust pastry. I did think about making rough puff for the first time, but decided that shortcrust is nicer for a pasty recipe. I made it with some cider, black pepper and thyme to hopefully enhance and compliment my pasty filling. I looked at the contents of my fridge and saw that I had some bacon lardons, some leeks, cheese, apple and some purple potatoes – yes purple potatoes (see photo below) which were freshly harvested on Friday – but more about those later in the week on another post. Their name is Salad Blue for all you potato fans, and they were grown in Herefordshire 🙂

So back to my pasties, and here is how I made them.

Bacon, Leek and Potato Pasties with a Cider Pastry (#GreatBloggersBakeOff2014 Week #7)

 

Print

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: Jenny Paulin

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• *FOR THE PASTRY*
• 250g wholemeal flour
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 100g unsalted butter cut into cubes
• cold cider (optional as you can use cold water) - approx 80ml but you may need less or more
• *FOR THE FILLING*
• 2 small potatoes (purple ones are optional of course! Std white variety is fine), diced into small
• pieces
• 2 leeks, chopped and diced into same size pieces as the potatoes
• 150g smoked bacon lardons/rashers cut into small cubes same size as the leeks and potatoes
• 1 eating aplpe, peeled and cut into cubes same size as the veg and bacon
• enough cider to cook the potatoes in so approx 200ml
• thyme
• black pepper
• 1 tbsp double cream
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 50g grated cheese
• 1 beaten egg
• small amout of milk in a cup

Instructions

1. *TO MAKE THE PASTRY*
2. Rub together the flour and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
3. Stir in the pepper and thyme
4. Using a knife birng the mixture together with the cider - adding a little at a time until the mixture becomes a dough. Using your hands bring the dough together into a ball and then take a piece of cling film or grease proof paper and dsut with flour and wrap the pastry ball in it and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
5. *TO MAKE THE FILLING*
6. Using the cider, par boil the potatoes for about 5 minutes then drain
7. Meanwhile, heat the oil over a moderate heat and cook the bacon and leeks for a couple of minutes and then add the potatoes, apples and thyme and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.
8. Add the cream and cream cheese and str well and season to taste with black pepper.
9. Leave to cool
10. *ASSEMBLE THE PASTIES*
11. Pre heat the oven to 180OC / 160oC (fan)
12. Take the pastry from the fridge and dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to about ½ cm in thickness. Using a sdie plate cut out 5 circles
13. In the centre iof each circle, add the filling there will be enough for the 5
14. Top each filling with some grated cheese
15. Brush the side of the circile that will be your crimped side with a little milk (to act as a pastry 'glue') and then pull half the pastry circle over to the other side to make your pasty shape, and then stick down around the edges, and crimp with your fingers to ensure its sealed
16. Glaze with your beaten egg
17. Cook in the oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown and the pastry is cooked
18. Serve hot, warm or cold and enjoy.

3.2.2802

So now over to you, on your marks get set……….BAKE!!!!!!!!

** A reminder of the Great Bloggers Bake Off 2014 rules**

So if you would like to join in this year or you are back again for some more baking fun, then here is what it entails:

**the Wednesday night following each episode of the GBBO a linky will open, and you need to bake a recipe inspired by one which was featured in the show. It can be an exact copy, one you have created yourself or a mix! As long as it can be connected to the themes used in that episode it can be linked up.

**the linky will remain open until the following Monday at 12pm. I will NOT accept any late entries this year unlike I did last year, simply because I am giving you an extra 12 hours!!!

** all entries must carry the Great Bloggers Bake Off badge if possible please and a link to my blog

**when you tweet your bake off recipe, please @JennyPaulin with the #greatbloggersbakeoff2014 hashtag and I will RT for you and add it to the pinboard.

**each week a blogger or bloggers will be selected as a Star Baker and will recieve a special badge to wear with pride on their blog.

**the next linky will open the following Wednesday as before but obviously with a new theme based on that evenings episode.

**the recipe linked up must not be one already posted on your blog – this is a bake along

This is not a serious linky at all (unless you make it so of course!). It is just for fun and any blogger is welcome to enter whatever their baking skills are and don’t be afraid to link up any disasters – credit will be given for effort too!

And finally……

Regular Great Bloggers  who bake will recall that last year there was a prize draw for the finale of the GBBO – well I am very much working on doing the same again this year, and I can confirm that so far I am able to offer a bakeware pack from Viners worth £30

and hopefully some more prizes will be available as the bake along continues 🙂

See you next week for the round up xx

The baking tray and serving platter featured in my recipe were sent to me from KitchenCraft for the purpose of including in a recipe post.

The Masterclass Crusty Bake baking tray is ideal for breads, cakes, cookies and pastry bakes – the clever airholes allow for perfectly crispy crusts and my pasties certainly were! To display my pasties in a showstopping manner, what better way than to use the  Artesà Combination Serving Board / Tray , a beautiful wooden and slate tray that can be used as a one piece or as two as I have shown above.

linking up to Supergolden Bakes

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