The Breakfast pie.

This is not a pie for breakfast.*

I just want to make this clear. Pie for breakfast is a Bad Idea. This is a pie that contains breakfast. The idea for it started a year ago when I had friends down and I made them this pie. Between discussions about the pie and what we were having for breakfast someone referred to the pie as breakfast pie, and so as a surprise on their visit this year I made this for him.

Breakfast Pie

• 1 pack puff pastry
• 8 sausages, skin removed (I used Sainsburys Linconshire ones because they're a bit herby)
• streaky bacon
• mushrooms, chopped (I used one portabello and it was a bit much)
• whole grain mustard
• soft boiled eggs, peeled.

Preheat oven to 190C/170C fan. The original Picnic Pie recipe this is based on says to cut a third off the pastry and roll the larger part our to line a 20cm round tin. I can't get it to line a 20cm tin so I use an 18cm one. Mix the mushrooms and sausages before putting a layer in the bottom of the pie. Make indents to put the eggs in and gently place them in the pie. I boiled six eggs but only managed to get 4 into the pie because they're very difficult to peel. I can't offer tips here, they were a bloody pain in the arse and I had to put one in that was split otherwise there wouldn't have been enough.

Once the eggs are in, gently put a small amount of the sausage meat to cover the top of them. Put in a layer of streaky bacon and cover with some mustard. Top this with the rest of the sausage/mushroom mix.

Roll out the left over third of pastry for the top, decorate and wash with egg. Put in oven and cook for 50 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool in the tin.

This was pretty good not long out of the oven but it was even better the next day cold. I've wondered how this could have been more breakfasty, tomatoes? Black pudding? Beans? The problem with tomatoes would have been too much fluid, the portabello I put in released a fair amount of water and tomatoes would have the same problem, and would result in the dreaded "soggy bottom". Black pudding would be ok, as long as everyone liked it, although I think it might over load the pie with meat (yes, I think you can have too much meat in a pie). And beans? Again a fluid issue, and it might make it too sweet.

Anyway, it made someone make this face, which makes me happy.

*Ok, if you want to eat it for breakfast that's fine. I've seen a lot worse things that people have for breakfast.