Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion (Picnic Pie)
A Nocturnal Beach Picnic, Wine and a Family Recipe
~ Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion ~
(Picnic Pie)
Picnic Party: Vintage Norwich
A Picnic! One of my favourite words in the English language…..nothing can deter me from having a good time, whether it is sunny or raining, it’s all of the fun of baking and making mountains of sandwiches just for the outdoor feast, as well as the prospect of eating outdoors, or as often happens with the British summer, in the car or under a hastily erected cover! The first usage of the word can be traced back to the 1692 edition of Tony Willis, Origines de la Langue Française, which mentions a “pique-nique”; that appears to be the first appearance of the word in print. The concept of a picnic has been linked with the idea of a meal to which everyone contributed something – such as our modern-day “Pot Luck Supper”. Whether the word picnic is actually based on the verb “piquer” which means ‘pick’ or ‘peck’ in French, with the rhyming “nique” meaning “something of little importance” is not known, although it’s often attributed as the origin of the word; however, the Oxford English Dictionary states that the word is of unknown provenance. The word picnic first appeared in the English language during the 16th Century, and was associated with the practice of eating an elegant meal out-of-doors, rather than agricultural worker’s meal out in the harvest field and amongst haystacks, which, is the usual pastoral image that we all have.
Back to my picnic, which was not in a corn field or by a babbling brook, it was a nocturnal Beach Picnic, on the shores of the Gironde Estuary in SW France……right on the sand! We met friends on the beach, and grabbed a picnic table and bench for the duration. We all brought something to eat, and the spread was a veritable feast…………cold roast chicken, baguette, pate and rillettes, cheese and ham sandwiches, potato salad, salad, olives, saucisson, cornichons, beer, wine, cider, squash and of course, my Picnic Pie – Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion.
Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion
This picnic pie is a little naughty, and I have been on a very strict diet lately, so it was a REAL treat for me to have a slice, and all that was needed to accompany it was a SMALL glass of wine and lots of fresh salad, and FRESH SEA AIR! We all sat by the sea for several hours before making our way up to the centre of the town (St Georges de Didonne) a mile away and enjoyed the nocturnal market that was being held there…..the town was buzzing with holiday makers and the smell of candy floss pervaded the air, creating a holiday and carnival atmosphere.
Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion
This old family recipe is not just for picnics however, it makes a GREAT family supper dish as well as a high tea treat……and talking of treats, as this is a PIE and is suitable for PICNICS, I am entering in to August’s Tea Time Treats Challenge, the theme of which is Picnic Pies and Tarts and is being hosted by Olympic Kate over at What Kate Baked.
That’s all for now, ENJOY the rest of the week and all this picnic weather we have been having………the recipe for my Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion is below and is part of my Monday Meal Plan, see you later, Karen.
Nocturnal Picnic and Pie – Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion
Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion (Picnic Pie)
Print recipe
| Serves | 6 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 35 minutes |
| Total time | 50 minutes |
| Allergy | Wheat |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Barbecue, Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion , peeled, halved and sliced
- 50g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 400g high meat-content sausages , skinned (I use Lincolnshire sausages with minimum 75% meat)
- 250g puff pastry
Note
A family favourite, this Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion is not only great picnic food but makes a tasty family supper dish, as well as being perfect for high tea. Use high quality (high meat content) sausages, and if fresh sage is not available, use 1 teaspoon of dried sage in its place. Can be frozen at the pre-bakes stage or after being cooked.
Directions
| Step 1 | Fry the diced onion in the oil until softened. Tip into a bowl, add the bread crumbs and fresh sage, mix well, season and cool. |
| Step 2 | Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 6. Mix the sausage meat with the sage and onion breadcrumb mix. Roll out the pastry to a 35 x 30cm rectangle and put on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. |
| Step 3 | Form the meat mixture into a long sausage shape and put in the centre of the pastry, leaving 2cm at each end. Cut 1.5cm strips away from the sausage meat along the length of the pastry. Fold in the ends and then alternate strips of the pastry up and over the sausage meat, crossing over each other neatly. Trim the excess pastry and glaze with milk if desired, Bake for 35 minutes until crisp and golden. |
| Step 4 | Serve warm or cold, cut into slices with salad, pickles, chutney, mustard or as a family meal with seasonal vegetables and potatoes. |
Nocturnal Picnic and Pie – Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion
As this has a GOODLY amount of SAGE in it, I am also adding this recipe to my
August Herbs on Saturday event.
Why not enter your Herb recipes too, there is a book up for grabs for the best recipe!
Nocturnal Picnic and Pie – Sausage Plait with Sage and Onion
Love that its one of my faves ever, I learned to make it at school in the 70’s LOL. Yours looks stunning Karen. x
Thanks Sue – it is a RARE treat for me as I have cut out pastry lately! Karen
I also used to make this in home economics lessons at school! Been meaning to make one for a while (along with scotch eggs!) and MUST. Great picnic idea. Thanks, Louisa
Thanks Louisa, this seems to be a much-loved recipe idea, and so many of us made one at school on Home Economics – LOVELY! Karen
What a coincidence! I’ve been thinking about this over the last couple of weeks. My version though was sausage and apple and I used to make it for my godfather, every time we went to dinner or they came to us I would have to make one, no matter what else we were eating. I hadn’t actually thought about it in years but then it popped into my head and now won’t leave. With this post too, I think I’m being told to make one again!
Thanks Sian! I have added apple to my sausage plait before too, it adds a LOVELY fruity flavour and I also love a spoon of chutney in the sausage mixture too, as well as apple sauce! There you go, it was meant to be, you will have to start plaiting pastry! 🙂 Karen
Oh my deliciousness! Can I please come to your next picnic? I love picnics and I’m a pretty good cook too! LOL!!! I can’t wait to make that sausage plait!
Thanks Mary – You are ALWAYS welcome to come to my picnics! It’s a very tasty recipe and I am sure your girls would love it!
It’s not quite beach picnic weather in blustery, wintery Sydney but this sage and onion plait is the kind of savoury dish that could be served all year round. With a little sage and onion gravy it will be a lovely winter warmer on this weekend’s menu. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thanks Food Sage! I keep forgetting that it is winter down in Australia – but, as you say, this would make a WONDERFUL winter supper dish with gravy and maybe some mashed spuds too!
ohhhh… I love the look of that plait – have a weakeness for pastry. I tend to make a big pie for a picnic. But even more ooohhh is your picnic on the beach. We’re heading to France in just over a week’s time and I cannot wait for lots of beachside meals in our camper van. Just reading your post, I can smell the sea…
Thanks Recipe Junkie, I LOVE camper van holidays, where are you heading to in France? Once made, this plait is VERY well behaved and cuts like a dream too – we love it with pickles and salad!
we’re getting the ferry to Cherbourg and have one night booked in a camp site near there. We have a vague plan to mooch as far as Mont St Michel, but nothing booked. I’m goin got take this with us for our first day’s feast. Only there for a week and we don’t want to do too much driving. next year we’re planning a longer trip down south back to Languedoc where I used to live and still have friends in the villages round Perpignan…
Ah, my sister is making her way over to us via Poole to Cherbourg today! Have a Lovely time!
Wow that sausage bread looks great, I want to be on a French beach having this picnic too!! Soon enough, coming to France in a couple of weeks, will be sure to make this bread/pie.
Thanks Helene! Where about in France are you coming too, I have a home in the Charente Maritime! IT’s a VERY easy and tasty recipe! 🙂 Karen
I love sausage plait. Funny I have never taken it on a picnic (I don’t know why as it looks a perfect dish). Yours looks irresistible.
Thanks Denise – I took it on a wooden cutting board and covered it with a tea towel, which worked very well and was easy to serve too!
Have never had or made a sausage plait, the first I really knew of them was from watching TOWIE! It looks delicious and I love a good sausage roll so will definitely make this for the family!
Thanks Camilla, I am sure if you LOVE sausage rolls you will LOVE this, and the children will also love it too! I never realised that it was popular on TOWIE too, I always think of it as a simple and Northern dish! Karen
That plait and wine looks like the perfect date faire! gorgeous photos too!
Thanks Jenny, it was a wonderful evening!
oh is there anything better than a pic-nic on a beach in the summer… I think not… glorious sunny days a little wine… good food… good friends… wonderful stuff… and LOOK at that sausage plait!… now that would keep me happy, maybe a baguette with some pate and cheese too!… oooh, i’m off to the beach!!
Thanks Dom – that is exactly what we had, as well as the sausage plait, we had baguette, cheese, and pate too!
oh my gosh karen! that looks AMAZING!! my sons are dieing, just dieing, looking at these wonderful picnic pics with a lincolnshire sausage roll of the likes we’ve never seen before. oh we miss the UK and her sausages! cote d rhones our new fave wines…. so cheers ! and thanks for sharing!! :O) someday i’m gonna try to replicate the lincolnshire here in states.
Thanks Marci – I DO have a recipe for Lincolnshire sausages, and I will post on my blog soon! Karen
Oh Karen what a lovely looking picnic and I love the beach at night and also in the winter, somehow much better than when there are lots of people around. I like both sandwiches and pies for a picnic, but the sandwiches must be filled right to the edge and the crusts cut off (my mother again!) or little, slightly sweet bridge rolls filled with egg mayonnaise. My mother’s other favourite sandwich was made with dates, the pressed block type, chopped and beaten until soft and spreadable, we loved that.
I’m so so sorry to have missed this wonderful addition to any picnic rug! What a fascinating account of the history of the picnic and a little description of your fantastic nocturnal picnic! Thank you so much KAren xx
Hi Karen, came over to check out what’s on the Picnic Mat and your sausage plait looks so good. I’ll put myself next to you so that I can make sure I get a slice!
THANKS Mich! My family LOVE this recipe and it is always a BIG hit! Karen
Shared on Twitter: https://twitter.com/maisietoo/status/346143263721394177
OMG This looks mouthwatering! Shared G+
This looks so easy and delicious, definitely going to make this. (May I make a suggestion to you and all European recipe posters, please include Fahrenheit temperatures with your recipe please)
I normally add F in my recipes, but it’s a really easy conversion, it’s 200C to 400F! I also have a very handy conversions chart here too:
KITCHEN TIPS