Saturday, November 5, 2011

Squashlove Blog Hop: Delicata Squash and Apple Sausage Pie

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing
Oh wasn't that a tasty dish to set before the king? 

Back in October I made a squash dish that didn't work out quite the way I hoped. Fortunately it sparked the idea for another dish featuring delicata squash and other seasonal flavors. Once I found out November's #lovebloghop would feature squash I knew I had to include this recipe in the hop. It's a great mix of savory flavors with a touch of sweetness from the apple and sausage.

A tasty dish for the king (or queen!) of the kitchen
Delicata Squash and Apple Sausage Pie ~ serves 4
3 cups delicata squash (about 2 medium)
3 cups apple (about 2 large)
1 cup leek
1 package Al Fresco Sweet Apple Chicken Sausages (4 sausages)
2 T pear liqueur
1 T olive oil
1 T sage
1/2 T thyme
nutmeg to taste
salt & pepper to taste

Pastry crust
1 cup AP flour, sifted
1 cup whole wheat flour, sifted
2/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold water
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1 egg + 1 T cold water, beaten (eggwash)

Notes before you start: most of us make substitutions when we cook. With this recipe you can substitute acorn or butternut squash if you can't find or don't have delicata squash. Make sure you choose an apple variety that will hold its shape well during cooking. McIntosh, for example, will turn to mush and shouldn't be used in this recipe. I don't suggest substituting for the Al Fresco brand sausages. Not only are they fantastic, this recipe is really skewed towards the flavor of their Sweet Apple Sausage. Unless you absolutely don't drink alcohol I also wouldn't omit the pear liqueur. You should be able to find it in any full-service wine and liquor store. If you have Poire William use that. If you're looking for a high quality, but less expensive version, check out the Mathilde brand of fruit liqueurs. For the crust you can substitute 100% AP white flour or 100% wheat flour if you like. I prefer a 50-50 ratio which makes the crust soft and familiar to my palate while still providing a great nuttiness from the wheat flour. With as much butter as it contains you don't have to worry about anyone in the family mistaking this for "health" food! You can also make this like a savory double crust pie by doubling the pastry recipe above and using a pie plate instead of a souffle dish like I did (photo above).

Preheat oven to 400º F

Sift together the flours and salt. Add in the herbs and cut in the butter in tiny pieces. Combine with fingertips until mixture looks like fine crumbs or sand and is beginning to hold together in a dough. Slowly add the cold water, a little at a time, only using as much as you need for the pastry to form into a cohesive ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Wash and peel the apples and squash. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut each half in half lengthwise again so you have four long quarters. Slice these into 1/4" slices. Cut the peeled apples in quarters and remove seeds. Cut each quarter into 1/4" slices. Place all slices into a large mixing bowl.

Slice leeks and add to mixing bowl. Remove casings from sausage by scoring them lengthwise down the back and peeling off. Cut into quarters lengthwise and then slice. The Al Fresco sausage is already fully cooked. Combine with the apples and squash.

Toss the apples, squash, etc with the olive oil, pear liqueur, herbs, and seasoning. Toss well to combine. Spread on a pastry sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Reduce heat on oven to 350º F.

Place baked squash, etc into a souffle dish and cover with rolled out pastry. Or, line a pie tin with rolled out dough, fill with squash mixture, and cover with rest of dough. Make sure to leave a hole to vent the steam and brush pastry with eggwash. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cooked through. For an extra shiny crust baste 1-2 more times during cooking with eggwash.


Enjoy!

Please check out these other great squashlove recipes or find us on Twitter at #squashlove.

25 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your gorgeous pie on our bloghop! Excellent combination of flavors. :)

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  2. wow amazing PIE filled with squash!! this is an awesome recipe. :D perfect for this weather right now. sending some #squashlove to u!

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  3. Love this fall inspired combo of flavors! I've never cooked with pear liqueur. Sounds like a good excuse to go buy a bottle ;-)

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  4. What a beautiful dish. When they say, "Easy as pie!", I still do not get it. You make it sound so easy, so I shall try soon. The holidays are upon us anyhow, and I should practice!

    Happy to be cooking with you! I love delicata squash as well, but I might have gotten carried away picking all the blooms resulting to a poor yield.

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  5. Now, that's definitely a pie fit for a king (or queen) indeed! Fabulous flavor combinations--especially the addition of pear liqueur.

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  6. This sounds like a double dish/dessert. savory and a hint of sweetness? perfect duo.
    Hello and great to be cooking with you on SQUASHLOVE #BLOGHOP!
    Enjoy the rest of the weekend,
    malou

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  7. what a pie! I'm with Malou, a dish or dessert could be eaten at breakfast too!

    nice meeting you Jess!

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  8. wow...sounds scrumptiously tasty..
    first time here..love your space Jess..
    very interesting presentation with awesome posts..
    Am your happy follower now..;)
    do stop by mine sometime..
    Tasty Appetite

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  9. Nice pie! (it reminds me of the tuna pies we cook here in north Spain ;-)
    Great sweet-and-salty filling!

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  10. This is really a savory beautiful delicious pie, I love all the flavors inside. These would make great personal pies for guest too! Really nice to meet you.

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  11. This looks beautiful! My only problem with such wonderful recipes is that I only could attempt them on a weekend, because they are fairly time intensive. It sounds really, really worth it, though...

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  12. Thanks for sharing this...it sounds delicious! I am not a big fan of chicken pot pie but all of the ingredients for this makes me want to whip it up for dinner tonight!

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  13. Oooh, a savory pie is a wonderful idea! Sounds so delicious...

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  14. another fun squash recipe!.. in a pie! i love the herbs and the flavors in it. i dont make pies much, but i can definitely make just this filling!

    Richa @Hobby And More Food Blog

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  15. This looks absolutely delicious! I love everything about it. Interesting use of pear liquor.

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  16. Hi! Found this gorgeous pie via the squash hop and am happy to be your newest follower. I would love it if you would come follow me back at http://www.yummymummykitchen.com
    Cheers!
    Marina

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  17. Your squash and apple sausage pie sounds FABULOUS! I'd love to try making this with a gluten-free crust. Definitely bookmarking it! Happy to meet through #squashlove!

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  18. Welcome to Bloghop! I like your speaking about our spanish tapas! Besos

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  19. This looks delicious and perfect for a cool fall night =) yum!

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  20. Your pie looks great! Apple and sausages, never tried this, I should cause it sounds delicious!

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  21. Apple and sausage are such a perfect combo! And I love the addition of the delicata squash in this pie too =)

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  22. I am in love with this beautiful pie. I love savory pies like this. I really can't wait to make my own.

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  23. This sounds wonderful! So glad you included it for squashlove, it is a perfect mix of flavors:-) Hugs, Terra

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  24. Man I love savory pies, definitely going to have to try this out. You should check out my Chicken Pot Pie recipe! http://happyvalleychow.blogspot.com/2011/12/chicken-pot-pie.html

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  25. Hi, you will have seen that the new Food on Friday ingredient is chicken. I noticed that you did this post on chicken which I think would be great linked in. We already have a collection of over 40 recipes which is wonderful. At the moment the Food on Friday edition with the most links is Beef with 73 – I get the feeling though that Chicken could become the new record holder!
    Have a great day and thank you for following Carole's Chatter. It 's nice to have you along for my blogging journey.

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