1. It's ridiculously good.
2. It's in season (Butternuts are coming to the end but still available)
3. It uses left over parma style ham - which many of us will have. I find that after slicing most of the usable ham from prosciutto crudo I tend to have a bit left over that's not really tidy enough to slice paper thin. This is a perfect use for it, but it could be made with any uncooked cured pork, offcuts or not.
We tend to make this using home made pastry and cutting into relatively small pasties, using circles about 10-12 cms across, 2 of which make a good lunchtime meal. Made in decent sized batches, it can be cooked and then frozen and reheats perfectly.
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Butternut Squash And Gruyere Pasties
british, main dish, meats, pastry, vegetables
1 tablespoon light olive oil
125 g serrano ham; cubed 5mm (or other prosciutto crudo)
2 tablespoon fresh sage; sliced or chopped
225 g butternut squash; 1 cm cubes
1 medium onion; very finely sliced
140 g gruyère, grated
3 tablespoon double cream
750 g short-crust pastry
1 free-range egg
salt
freshly ground white pepper
Shortcrust pastry as needed.
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F)
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the ham until it begins to turn crispy. Add the sage and toss quickly. Tip on to a plate lined with kitchen paper.
3. Make the filling by mixing the butternut squash, onion, cheese, crispy ham and sage. Season generously with salt and freshly ground white pepper and then mix thoroughly with the cream.
4. Place one sheet of pastry onto a floured board. Take a plate large enough to cut out 2 circles from the pasty. You can also just divide into two to make a triangle pasty.
5. Whisk the egg up and add a teaspoon of water to make egg wash.
6. Place a quarter of the mixture onto one half of the pastry. Brush the inside edges with some egg wash, then carefully close to from a purse shape. Using a fork gently crimp the edges. Brush the top with more of the egg wash and place on a baking tray. Repeat the process to make the remaining three.
7. Place in the oven for ten minutes. Then reduce the temperature to
180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and cook for a further 25 to 30 minutes when the pastry
will be golden brown and the pasties cooked through.
8. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Yield: 4 servings
** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.86 **
Ridiculous. In fact we make this using Comté cheese, because it's easier to find here in France.
as yet I haven't managed to find anything in between.
