Another pie... with sausages and mushrooms and chestnuts!

This is the second pie, really good and quick to put together. I had it with cabbage, mushrooms and the remaining chestnuts for day one, and then again with German fried potatoes (easy sautéed potatoes with fried onions and bacon, delicious!)  It reheated well, though I think I heated it a little longer than it needed.

Sausage Picnic Pie:

This is an easy, tasty pie that can be eaten hot or cold, and can make use of things you can keep in the freezer for when you aren't in the mood for making anything complicated.

• One sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, thawed if frozen
• half a pack of sausage meat (your favourite type, I like something quite herby)
• half a tin of prepared chestnuts broken up (use the other half with the vegetables if you are serving this hot)
• 2 sticks of celery
• 150g chestnut mushrooms
• sprinkling of finely chopped fresh herbs - thyme or oregano are both good
• flour for dredging
  one egg beaten with a little water for glaze

1. Cut the mushrooms and celery into small chunks, sauté them in a little oil until softened. Mix in the chestnuts and allow to colour a little. Spread out on a plate to cool (don't add them hot they will melt the pastry)
2. Slice the sausage meat into 6 rings, dredge lightly in flour
3. Cut two circles from the pastry, place one on a baking sheet.
4. Allowing about an inch around the edge, arrange the sausage meat rings in a circle, (there will be a gap in the middle of the circle.)
5. Top them with the mushroom.celery and chestnut mixture, filling in the middle gap and spreading the rest evenly
6. Moisten the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg and top with the 2nd circle of pastry. Use the trimmings to make leaves if you like. Seal the edges well and crimp.
7. Glaze the top of the pie with the egg and cut a steam hole in the middle so that the pastry doesn't go soggy.
8. Bake in a hottish oven Gas mk 6 for 30 mins, then reduce the heat to gas mk 4 for another 15.
9. Serve hot with vegetables or salad or allow to cool on a rack and serve cold at a picnic (if the weather ever warms up sufficiently! )