Sausage and Apple Pie (Cheddar Cheese Crust)

England's Cheshire Pie, a hearty combination of boneless pork loin and cider-moistened apples in a flaky crust, is the inspiration for this sausage and apple pie with cheese pastry. Serve this warm, with fruit salad, at breakfast or brunch. Or heat some up for Sunday night supper, where it goes wonderfully well with a plain green salad.

Cheddar Cheese Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached (240 g)
heaping ¼ tsp. sea salt
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (113 g)
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold (113 g)
1 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar
2-4 Tbsp. water, cold (28-57g)

Filling:
1 lb ground pork sausage (454 g)
2-3 tart apples, such as Granny Smiths, cored and sliced or roughly chopped
2-3 sweet apples, cored and sliced or roughly chopped
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 cup apple juice or cider (248 g)
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed (73 g)
½ tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp. dried rosemary
¼ tsp. ground allspice

Egg Wash:
1 egg + 2 Tbsp. water, fork beaten (30 g)

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Make the Filling:
Cook the sausage until browned then set it aside.

Place the apples, salt, apple juice, brown sugar, thyme, rosemary and allspice in a sauté or fry pan and cook on medium-low heat until you can just start to put a fork into the apples. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside. Reserve the juice.

Pour the juice into a small saucepan. If you have less than a cup, add more juice or cider to make 1 cup, then turn the heat to low and cook until the juice has reduced in amount to about one quarter its amount and has nearly caramelized. Be careful not to let it burn. This will take about 10-12 minutes.

Spoon the sausage into the apple mixture, pour over the reduced cider and mix well. Adjust the salt to taste and let the filling cool.

Make the Crust:
In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

Using an electric mixer, a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers, cut and mix the cheese and butter into the flour mixture until the fat and flour form a crumbly mixture. Add the lemon juice or vinegar, then sprinkle on just enough water so that you can gather the dough into a cohesive ball.

Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a 1" thick round. Wrap one of the rounds in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate it while you work with the other. Transfer the remaining dough to a well-floured work surface.

Roll it into a 12" circle, using as few strokes of the rolling pin as possible; the fewer times you touch the crust at this point, the more tender it'll be when it's baked. Transfer the circle of dough to a 9" pie plate (a giant spatula works great here) and gently fit it to the pan's contours. If you push and stretch the dough too much during this stage, it'll shrink when you put it in the oven.

Roll out the bottom crust and place in your pie pan. Add the filling.

Roll out the upper crust and place it on top. Seal the edges, crimp and vent. Brush the pie with the egg wash.

Bake for 40 minutes. Give the pie two more egg washes at 10 minute intervals during the first 20 minutes of the bake.

Let the pie cool for 15 minutes or more before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Cook's Notes:

• This pie can be made with or without a bottom crust.
• Depending on the type of apples used, there may be a lot of moisture in the filling and the bottom crust will soak it up.
• The cheddar cheese crust is a little sturdier than a crust without cheese, so don’t make the edges too thick.