Pork, Sage & Apple Pie

My mom always said that I could take an old boot and make it taste delicious.  I am not sure if that is true or not, but I do have a knack for creating something delicious to eat using whatever I have to hand.  Today I had leftover potatoes and roast pork from dinner the other day that I needed to use up pronto and this is what I came up with.  It was fabulously delicious!




I know it's a bit of a stretch to call this a pie . . .  there's no crust actually, not unless you count the crushed croutons on top.  You could certainly pop the filling between two crusts or beneath a crust if you wanted to . . .  but the crushed croutons dotted with butter work very well.

 

You could also use crumbled stuffing crumbs, which would add an extra dimension of flavour and you could add an extra layer of them on the bottom as well. I chose to only put them on the top.



I made a sauce to use with the filling, but you could also use leftover gravy if you wanted to.  I didn't have any, so I opted for a creamy sauce, which was really nice.  Just make sure you add some sage to the gravy if that is what you choose to use instead of the sauce.



The potatoes kind of absorb the sauce giving it an almost scalloped potato feel . . .  and of course because pork goes really well with apples, I added a chopped apple to the mix as well.  The onions, celery and sage in the sauce give it sort of a stuffing flavour . . .  think sage and onion stuffing



 So good with pork  . . .  and apples.  This was totally delicious. It tasted all brand new and not like leftovers at all.  Some veg on the side is all you need for a complete meal.   Simple, thrifty and totally delicious!  What more could you ask for??

 

*Pork, Sage and Apple Pie*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

Not a pie in the sense that there is no crust, although you could certainly put this tasty dish between two crusts and bake it like  a pie.  It makes good use of leftovers and is delicious! 

1 large eating apple, peeled, cored and chopped

1 TBS brown sugar

1 cup of chopped leftover cooked pork

1/2 cup chopped cooked potato

1 TBS butter

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

1 stick of celery, trimmed and chopped

1 TBS flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 TBS freeze dried sage leaves, crumbled

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups crushed herbed croutons

butter for dotting

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a shalllow casserole dish.

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the onions and the celery.  Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until softened without browning.   Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute.  Add the seasonings, sage and cream, and simmer very slowly until thickened, whisking constantly.  Set aside.

Mix the apple with the brown sugar in a bowl.  Add the pork, and potatoes.  Toss together to combine.   Pour the sauce over top and stir gently together.  Pour into the casserole dish.  Sprinkle the croutons on top and dot with butter.

 

Cover with foil and then bake for 1/2 hour.  Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer.

Fabulous, and to think . . .  it all started with a few leftovers!!