Root Vegetable and Apple Pie with Sausage

Chef

Cookbook

Apples from Harvest to Table

Published by St. Martins Griffin

View

This image courtesy of Olivia Brent

This hearty apple and vegetable pie smacks of winter and is delicious for brunch, lunch, or dinner. I like to use golden beets in this recipe, as red beets give the appearance of a sweet pie after baking, but feel free to use any beet you prefer. Phyllo is used as a crispy crust here, layered with root vegetables and apples in a savory pie.

Serves4 to 6

Cooking MethodBaking, Sauteeing

CostModerate

Total Timeunder 4 hours

OccasionCasual Dinner Party, Family Get-together

Recipe CourseMain Course

Dietary ConsiderationEgg-free, Peanut Free, Soy Free, Tree Nut Free

MealBrunch, Dinner, Lunch

Taste and TextureFruity, Meaty, Savory

Type of DishSavory/pot Pie

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion
½ pound ground Italian sausage, casings removed
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
10 sheets phyllo
2 to 3 golden beets (about ½ pound), peeled and thinly sliced, about 1/8 inch thick
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 to 4 medium apples (about 1 pound), cored and thinly sliced, about ¼ inch thick (see Notes)
2 to 3 turnips (about ½ pound), peeled and thinly sliced, about 1/8 inch thick
3 ounces soft goat cheese (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion just begins to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft and velvety, another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the sausage to cool completely.
To prepare the phyllo, in a small pan, melt the butter over low heat. You don't want to brown the butter at all. Set the phyllo sheets on the counter and cover with a damp cloth. Working with 1 sheet at a time, use a pastry brush to Cover the entire sheet with butter. Put a second sheet of phyllo over the first, and repeat–brushing a thin layer of butter over the entire sheet. Continue working in this way until you have 5 sheets stacked together.
Lightly brush the bottom of a deep 9-inch pie pan with butter and lay the stack of phyllo across the pan. The edges of the phyllo will hang over the sides. Layer the remaining 5 phyllo sheets in this fashion, brushing with melted butter as before. Rotate the pie pan 90 degrees, and lay the second phyllo stack across the pan, perpendicular to the first layer.
Add the first layer of beets to the phyllo, overlapping the edges slightly and covering the bottom. Repeat with half of the apple slices to create a layer over the beets. Season with salt and pepper. Now add a layer of turnips. Over the turnips add half of the sausage mixture.
Continue in this fashion to make another layer of beets, apples, and turnips.
When the last turnip layer is completed, press the filling down hard with your hands, making sure there are no big air pockets or spaces. Add the remaining sausage mixture to the top. If you're using the goat cheese, break it into small pieces and dot over the top of the sausage.
Working clockwise, fold in the corners of the phyllo, creating a pleated top to your pie. Bake until the phyllo is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the pie cool for 15 minutes before serving.