Herby lamb and pea pie

I love this pie.  Now I know I sound like I love every recipe I make - which I do - but I just love this pie a little bit more.

I've had my issues with pies over the years and yes, granted, this one is just a top-only pie and not a top-and-bottom version so that's easier.  However, it hasn't always been the pastry that has been a problem, but the filling too.

Mostly, to be honest, it has been the gravy or sauce where I've failed.

However, in the Game Pie and with this lovely example here, I got the gravy right.  None of the "gravy like water", where it has been diluted in the cooking.  Equally, none of the "gravy like glue".  No, just a perfectly thick, covering, tasty, unctuous pie gravy that means every forkful will be as delicious as the last and with no resorting to gravy granules.

So I'm pleased.

The pie itself had been simmering on a low heat in my head for a couple of weeks, while I worked out what "interesting" departure from a usual lamb pie I would use.

Mint and Rosemary - home grown, don'cha know!

I was convinced that it would be the juniper berries that I bought for the game pie, right up until - with a stroke of inspiration - I remembered the pomegranate molasses.  Even when I was cooking the filling, I had the juniper berries sat there beside the pomegranate molasses, as I really wasn't sure which one to choose.  Ultimately, I had a little taste of the way the sauce was going, then a little taste of some of the molasses on a teaspoon.  The combination of the two was just so good, I didn't consider the juniper any further.

Lamb often needs something a little bit sweetly acidic to complement its own earthy sweetness and this is why redcurrant jelly does the job so well.  So, if you don't want to invest in a bottle of pomegranate molasses just for this pie (although why not try it drizzled lightly over strawberries and Greek yoghurt - it's otherworldly), add a teaspoon or more of redcurrant jelly instead.  The difference the pomegranate made to the sauce was just incredible, bring it alive in a subtle but definite kind of a way.

Another departure from the norm, is cooking the lamb in pale ale.  So often, you will find lamb cooked in wine - usually red, but I wanted to use something different.  I also wanted to keep to a "country kitchen" kind of a theme, which ale suited so much better than wine.  My plans for the pie didn't suit a very strong, hoppy kind of ale, but a lighter, milder flavour - so a pale ale was fine and the English Pale Ale (from Marstons brewery) that I chose was perfect for the cause.  If you're in a place where Pale Ale doesn't come easily, choose as light a beer as you can find without venturing into lager territory.

Now one other very important thing regarding this pie is that it takes a fair old while from beginning to end, if you want to do it properly.  So it's definitely something that you don't want to attempt when you've only got a couple of hours to spare.

Having said that, however, you can devoted two days to it and cook the filling the day before, so stretching out the effort and making it a little easier to cope with.  Plus, it means you'll be ahead of the game on the day.

Now, as for Cook's Tips, as ever I have a few for you :

Ordinary frozen peas will do if you don't have petit pois.  Nobody's going to quibble over the size of a pea.

You might be surprised that I don't recommend dusting the meat with seasoned flour, rather than adding the flour later.  Well, what I'm avoiding is the burned flour on the base of your pan.  Maybe it's just me, but it so often happens that way - and I didn't want any acrid burned flavours in my softly flavoured lamb.

Now, when you add the ale/flour mixture, if lumps do form (and it often happens), don't panic over it - just break them down into pieces that are as small as possible with the whisk and think no more of it, as they will finally dissolve during the baking.

Even if you've never made pastry before, do give this pastry a go.  It really is so easy to make!  There's no fiddling about with it, no kneading, very little mixing and so long as you add the water in one go to begin with (the 50ml), mix it lightly, add a little more, mix it lightly (just two or three passes of the knife) and keep the water to as little as possible - just enough to keep it together, you can't go wrong.  It really is SO good and suits this pie perfectly.

My last advice to you is to read the recipe a couple of times before you embark upon the bake.  It is always good to have a good idea of what you're doing, before you do it!

I do so hope you enjoy the process of making this pie and that the end result is as successful for you, as mine was.  I shall be crossing my fingers for you!  (Which makes it very difficult to type, but I'll persevere - as it's you). 

HERBY LAMB AND PEA PIE   (serves 4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil
450g diced lamb or lamb neck fillet, diced
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 medium carrot, diced finely
2 leeks, halved and sliced
500ml pale ale (I used Marston's English Pale Ale)
200ml water
1 heaped tsp tomato puree
1 lamb stock cube (low salt, preferably)
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp petit pois.

For the pastry :

150g plain flour
50g Atora vegetable suet
50g salted butter
a pinch of sea salt
50 ml cold water as a minimum.

Method :

In a deep frying pan, heat the olive oil until smoking hot.  Gently add the lamb and spread it out into one layer.  Season with a light pinch of salt and a good pinch of black pepper.  Leave it to cook, only moving it once the pan side has begun to caramelise, then turn it.  Leave until the lamb has browned, then remove the meat to a bowl using a slotted spoon to retain the oils in the pan.

Add the onion, garlic and carrot to the pan and fry until the onion is transparent.  Do not allow it to caramelise or burn.

Add the leeks and reduce the heat slightly.  Return the lamb to the pan and stir through.  Fry the leeks until softened, then decant the pan contents into a casserole dish. 

Add all but 150ml of the pale ale to the pan and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to moderate and add the water, tomato puree, lamb stock cube, rosemary, mint, parsley and pomegranate molasses.  Stir through and allow to simmer whilst you mix the remaining ale with the plain flour.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the ale/flour mix.  Whisk through as you are adding, to prevent lumps forming.   Place back onto the heat and stir well as the gravy thickens.

Pour the gravy into the casserole dish and stir through.  Cover the casserole and place into a pre-heated oven at 170degC/325degF/gas3 for 90 minutes.

Once the time is up, remove the casserole from the oven and set aside to cool.

(It is at this stage, if you are making the pie in two instalments, that it would be possible to refrigerate the filling until the following day.  Just remember to bring the filling back up to room temperature before you bake the pie).

Make the pastry for the pie, by placing the plain flour, vegetable suet, salted butter and sea salt into a large bowl.  Rub the butter into the mixture until you have a cross between breadcrumbs and cornflake shapes.

Make sure to stir the pastry with a knife and under no circumstances knead the pastry dough.  Add just enough water to bring the pastry together - just stir a few times with your knife, then pat and push the remainder of the flour into the ball.  Wrap the ball in cling film and leave in a fridge to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Once the meat filling is cool, add the petit pois and decant into the pie dish.

Paint the edge of the pie dish with egg yolk.

Roll out the pastry until it is just slightly larger than the pie dish, then lay it on top of the dish, making sure it meets the edge all the way around.

Press down lightly on the edge, to seal the pastry.  Trim off any excess.

Cut several holes in the centre of the pastry to let out any steam (otherwise the pastry will detach in places) and egg wash with the remainder of the egg yolk.

Place into a pre-heated oven at 180degF/350degC/gas4 for 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp.

Serve with roasted parsnips, Savoy cabbage and baby corn - or vegetables of your choice.

Printable version

Beef Silverside & Mushroom Pie - a classic "leftovers" pie

We knew that, with just the three of us eating from a 1kg piece of Silverside, there would be plenty of leftovers.  So, rather than use the remainder in (albeit delicious) sandwiches, I thought we'd do something a bit more useful and make a pie.

There was a good five or six slices left - and the smaller offcuts - so I had plenty of beef and didn't need to pad the filling out with lots of veggies.  So for all that it is called a "Silverside & Mushroom Pie", it was in fact a beef, onion & mushroom pie.

Now anyone who has been following this blog for a while, will know that I've had something of a chequered history with pies.  The big problem, it would seem, is that I rarely get the sauce/gravy consistency right.  It is either too thin, or too thick.  Too much, or not enough.

I was determined, with this pie, to get it right.

As such, I'd made sure that hubby kept any leftover gravy and stock from braising the beef the day before - so I had a great base to start with.

I kicked off proceedings by cooking two sliced onions until they were soft and golden - just starting to caramelise and deliver that lovely fried onion flavour.  I then added the mushrooms and quickly cooked them - not completely - but enough that they obtained a hint of colour.

Next, in went yesterday's gravy and the gravy that the sliced meat had sat in (in the fridge) since the day previous - and tasted.  Mmmn, nice - but not robust enough.

So, I then added two bay leaves, a half an Oxo cube (which helped with the beefy flavour and added a little salt), a teaspoonful of Bovril to boost the beefy flavour even further, a good glug or three of Worcestershire Sauce (which always helps beef dishes along a bit) and a dessertspoonful of tomato ketchup (which delivers a mix of spices that it is very difficult to find elsewhere, plus a little sweetness).

I gave that lot time to blend together as the gravy simmered, then tasted again.  Oooh yes, now we're talking - but it needed to be thicker and could do with a good grind or three of black pepper.  Pepper duly added, I rummaged in the cupboard and found a jar of Bisto "best rich & roasted beef" gravy granules.  Ordinarily, I'd opt for some flour or cornflour to thicken a gravy, but something made me use the gravy granules.  You need to be careful about how much salt is in the gravy already, as gravy granules can really deliver an intense salty hit, if you're not careful.  In this case, just a couple of tablespoonfuls made all the difference to the gravy, making it glossy, thick and oh so flavoursome.  Thinking on, although I was a tad embarrassed at using gravy granules, it occurred to me that it was really no worse than using a stock cube, in the context with which I was using it.  After all, I'm not exactly just adding water, stirring and calling it gravy.

Once I had the gravy where I wanted it, I added the beef (which I'd chopped into bite sized pieces) and heated it all through while the oven warmed up and I got the pastry ready.

This really was a superb pie.  I think the closest I can get to it would be the Kate & Wills' Wedding Pie, but it would be close run thing to judge between them.

The beef was tender, the mushrooms delicious and the onions had just melted away into the gravy.  The gravy had all the benefit of the beef having been cooked in it, plus the effect of the red wine, which boosted its depth and flavour.  The consistency of the gravy was perfect in that it coated the ingredients but still had enough movement to ooze from the pie into the accompanying vegetables.

Goodness, just thinking back and remembering the flavours is making my tummy rumble - which is testimony to just how good the pie was, I think!

I won't set out a recipe for the pie, as the ingredients - particularly for the gravy - very much depend on what was used to cook the beef in to begin with.  However, I hope this blog post will act as inspiration for you to give a go to making a pie with the leftovers from your next piece of roast beef - if you have any, that is!

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Turkey, chestnut & cider pie - surprised us all!

The flavour of the turkey used in this pie filling matched up perfectly with the thyme and cider, to create a beautiful sauce/gravy that was embellished by the addition of the cream.  The sweetness of many of the ingredients was tempered by the strength of flavour from the turkey leg meat, earthiness of the carrots and lightness of the celery.


Mistakenly, I left the chestnuts whole (should have halved or sliced them), which gave a bit too much chestnut per mouthful - but it was a simple job to just cut them in half as you went.  Using them to scoop up a dollop of that lovely gravy, they were just divine.


This pie certainly surprised hubby, in that the bit he was most dubious about (the cider gravy) was the bit he liked the most, whereas the bit he wasn't too bothered about (the meat), was the bit he liked the least!

For son & heir, he was surprised at liking it at all - and he ate every little bit of it, including the sliced mushrooms.

Pie filling, all ready to have its pastry lid - delicious!

For me, I knew I'd like it and indeed I wasn't wrong.  The surprise for me was at the poor quality of the Turkey leg meat that I'd bought.

I'd been sent a pack of Asda's turkey thigh meat, previously, which had appeared to be in a very dodgy condition once defrosted.  So, I'd gone out and replaced it with exactly the same (but with a better "use by" date!) - 600g of diced turkey thigh.

Now I don't use pre-diced meat like this ordinarily.  I'd rather buy a couple of turkey thighs and dice the meat up myself, so it is quite probable that every pack of pre-diced meat is the same, but I wouldn't have expected to have had to go over every little piece to remove the veins, gristle and fat.  I had to with this pack!  Some of the pieces of meat were gut-churning because of what they had attached to them.  Lord, if I'd have just thrown it into the pan and cooked it, only for it to have then arrived on hubby's plate, he'd have turned vegetarian there and then.

Aside from that, the quality of the meat when cooked was so random that I had pieces cooked perfectly adequately and were tender to the bite, but others were just like bits of india-rubber.  I am sure they would have required a minimum of an hour's cooking to have rendered them even near to being tender.  How can you cook a pie filling satisfactorily, if the meat doesn't cook through at the same rate?  Impossible.

As for the flavour of the meat - well that isn't in question, as it was really lovely.  Everybody was in agreement that the flavour of the filling was exceptional and the whole thing would have been perfect, if the meat had have been tender throughout.  Of course, the flavour was helped along by the lovely Essential Cuisine's Chicken Stock powder, which can't help but make a gravy delicious.

So I just don't know, really, what the answer is.  Apart from to recommend using turkey breast in the pie filling - which is reflected in the recipe below.  However, I can't help but feel that this is something of a copout, as a pie is a vehicle for a cheaper cut of meat - and turkey thigh is perfect.  However, not if the quality is going to be so random!

I'd definitely like to use turkey more often as it is high in protein but low in fat and will be investigating what turkey meat products are available through our local butcher, not just the supermarket.  However, for more turkey ideas - and information on turkey generally - why not go along to Lean on Turkey and have a bit of a browse.


TURKEY, CHESTNUT & CIDER PIE    (serves 4)

Ingredients :

1 onion, diced
350g turkey breast meat, cubed
2 medium carrots, peeled & sliced fine
2 celery sticks, de-stringed & diced finely
125g chestnut mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
225g chestnuts, halved
300ml dry cider
150ml chicken stock (I used Essential Cuisine's stock powder, so added a little more than was necessary for 150ml, just to boost the flavour a little).
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
4 tbsp double cream
1 egg yolk
150g (approx) puff pastry.

METHOD :

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 200degC/400degF/gas 6.

2.  Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and cook the onion until just soft but not coloured.

3.  Add the mushrooms and continue to cook, on a higher heat, for a few minutes.

4.  Add the turkey meat and continue to cook until it has all changed colour.

5.  Add the celery and carrots, chestnuts and thyme and mix well.  Season.

6.  Once the vegetables have all warmed through, add the cider and chicken stock.  Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the gravy reaches a suitable consistency.

7.  Reduce the heat and add the cream.  Stir through, then leave to cool slightly.

8.  Decant into your pie dish and brush the outer edge of the dish with the egg yolk.

9.  Place the (rolled out) pastry on top and press the edges down onto the rim of the dish.  Trim off the excess pastry and press the tip of a knife all around the edge to finalise the seam.

10.  Cut a hole in the centre of the pie for the steam to escape, then give the whole pastry top an egg wash for a lovely shiny finish.

11.  Bake for some 15-25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is discernibly hot and bubbling.

Serve with steamed vegetables of your choice.

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Ham & Apple Pie : Arthur Potts Dawson, you're a genius!

I can remember saying to a Twitter friend of mine, earlier in the week, that a good time to come round for dinner would (hopefully) be on Thursday, when we were having Arthur Potts Dawson's Ham & Apple Pie.

Well, owing to a miscalculation on the "time in which to cook it" front, it happened on Friday (so it's a good job you didn't show up, @JackKnightCooks!) - but how right was I, that it was going to be a goodie?  Ooooh yes.  A goodie and then some.

I chose to make this pie this week because it uses Bramley apples - and it is currently Bramley apple week.  However, just a quick look at the recipe will tell you that this stands the chance of being a very successful combination for use at any time.

The pie filling is a combination of ham, cheese and apple, all held together and seasoned by a béchamel sauce made with cream and a pinch of nutmeg.  Encased in a puff pastry shell, just the idea of it was making my mouth water.

The pie itself is a complete doddle to make.  The thing that I had forgotten - and what stopped me making it on the Thursday when I miscalculated my timings - was that you don't serve the pie hot.  It has to cool down and be served at either room temperature or cold.  In fact, I have since had a slice of it that I heated up in the microwave, just to see how it would be hot - and it was fine.  The reason you need to allow it time to "rest" (and thus cool down a bit) is because of the cheese and the béchamel sauce.  When the pie is fresh from the oven, these two ingredients are very fluid and - once it is cut - stand the chance of flooding out of the pie, taking the apple and ham with them.

It even looks great, unbaked!

I suspect, though, that if you allow the pie time to calm down - and if you've put a hole in the top to allow steam to escape, you can tell when it has calmed down as the filling subsides away from the pastry casing - it would be perfect to cut and eat with some light vegetables.

So basically, this is one very flexible pie.  It can be eaten hot with vegetables, or warm with potato wedges and baked beans, or cold with a salad or on a picnic.

The very best thing about it, though, is that it is completely gorgeous and moreish!

We rejected the parsnip mash & peas in favour of potato wedges!

I bought some puff pastry to make it with and because my pastry sheets were rectangular and not round, my pie wound up being rectangular instead of the "tourtiere" shape shown in the original recipe (which I found on www.lovefood.com).  It also wound up being completely enormous - and I only included one apple!  Goodness only knows how small Arthur Potts Dawson's apples must have been, as mine was the regular size for a Bramley.

I was also a little bit concerned about the pastry on the bottom of the pie cooking properly and not going all soggy, so I brushed a little egg yolk across it before I started to build the pie.  Goodness knows if that helped, but the bottom pastry cooked perfectly - so I can only think it must have done.  It is easy for pastry to be soggy when the first layer of filling is something squishy like the béchamel sauce.

Regarding the bechamel, I was glad that the recipe brought together a sauce that was quite thick and substantial, as I didn't want a river of pie filling as soon as the pie was cut.  I have had that happen in the past with meat pies that have contained apple and cheese - and it's not a good look!

So, the upshot of all this was a gloriously golden baked massive pie that was impressive to present at the table and tasted every bit as good as it looked.  You can't ask for more than that!

I have detailed below how I made the pie, but do please feel free to go to the original recipe and make it from that.  The only things that differ are the quantities of ingredients.  The method is exactly the same.

HAM & APPLE PIE   (serves 6)

Ingredients :

25g butter
25g flour
150ml milk
50ml double cream
a pinch of sea salt
a pinch of black pepper
a pinch of nutmeg
425g puff pastry sheets (frozen, but defrosted)
1 egg yolk, for brushing
180g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
1 large Bramley apple (or 2 medium), cored, peeled & sliced thinly
500g gammon ham (I used Gammon rounds, chopped into small pieces).

Method :

1.  First make the béchamel by melting the butter in a small saucepan.  Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or so, then slowly, bit by bit, whisk in the milk and then the cream until you have a lump free sauce.  Bring to the boil, stirring all the time and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg.  The sauce should thicken.  Once that has happened, set it aside to cool.


2.  Pre-heat the oven to 190degC/375degF/Gas 5.

3.  Take your pastry pieces and unroll the first onto your baking sheet.  With a sharp knife, lightly mark (without cutting through the pastry) a line some 3cm inside of the edge to mark the boundary over which the filling must not stray.


4.  Taking your egg yolk and a brush, lightly brush this boundary with egg to provide a sealant once the top layer of pastry is in place.


5.  Begin building the pie's filling by placing a blob of béchamel in the middle of the pastry piece and spread it out until the base is covered by a light coating.


6.  The next layer is a little cheese, followed by some ham and then the apple - which I recommend you place neatly in little rows, as it can easily get out of control and start sliding everywhere or poking up out of the pastry!


7.  Press down the three layers lightly, then season with a little freshly ground black pepper.


8.  Add small blobs of béchamel as the beginning of the next batch of layers and smooth them out as best you are able.  Follow this with the cheese, ham and apple, then press, then pepper - until you run out of ingredients or the pile is getting rather too big!


9.  Take the remaining piece of pastry - which should be lightly rolled out until it is slightly larger than the base piece - and lay it over the top of the filling pile.


10.  Gently press around the edges to form a seal between top and bottom pastry which will prevent the filling from escaping.  Take care not to pierce the pastry.


11.  I then crimped the edges like you would a cornish pasty, just to ensure the filling stayed where it was and to make an attractive edging.


12.  Cut a hole (or two) in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape when cooking, and give the whole thing a good egg wash with the remains of the egg yolk.


13.  A light sprinkle of black pepper over the lot, then place into the oven for 40 minutes (remembering to turn the pie if your oven is prone to cooking one side more than the other, after 20 minutes).  Once the 40 minutes is up, reduce the oven temperature to 150degC/300degF/Gas 2 and bake for 10 minutes more.


14.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving hot, or allow to cool.


Printable version.
  

Corned Beef Pie - plain storecupboard food!

This recipe was another exercise in recreating a flavour from my past.

Before I owned my own horse, my best friend and I went on a riding holiday in the New Forest.  The very first night we were there, after an afternoon of gallivanting about the countryside on horseback, we settled down to a completely gorgeous pie.  Everyone was intrigued by this pie and much discussion was had, back and forth across the table, about its ingredients while its creator (the housekeeper) sat with an enigmatic smile, enjoying the banter.  The pie's filling was soft, like lamb, but tomatoey like baked beans, quite dense, fried onions, quite peppery, shortcrust pastry and a deliciously savoury thick sauce.

Well, it turned out to be corned beef pie.

Now, in the past, I've had one or two goes at recreating the pie - none of which have been the least bit successful.  However, with my (relatively) new found culinary experience and several very successful attempts at recreating flavours from our youth (the Nasi Goreng and Kentish Pie, for instance), I was quite confident about getting it right, this time.

I felt that the key to the pie was to keep the ingredients for the filling simple.  After all, it stood to reason that something billed as "corned beef pie" was unlikely to have a great long ingredients list.  I can remember going down the tinned tomatoes route and failing miserably, as that made the tomato aspect too tart.  It needed to be softly tomatoey.  Having just made the Green Couscous, which involves frying an onion until it is caramelised, then adding a touch of cumin and some salt, got me to thinking about the worth of doing something similar for the Corned Beef Pie.  The tiny touch of cumin was sufficient to provide a background warmth that just brought the couscous a hidden depth - and so it did for the pie.

Served with beef gravy - you've got to have gravy!

I really enjoyed the end result, as did Son & heir (which tells you that it's child-friendly, depending on how much chilli you include!).  Hubby wasn't so enraptured as we were and reported that the chilli made the pie a little bit hard work to get through for him.  Which is fine - it just means that I'll reduce the amount of chilli in the next one and hopefully it will hit the spot for him.  I may even ditch the chilli flakes and go for a shake or two of cayenne pepper, which will provide a quiet warmth rather than the more frisky heat of the chilli flakes.

I served the pie with a Red Cabbage & Cranberry dish, which was completely gorgeous.  The two went together so well, I suspect I'll be repeating the exercise.  In addition, I served some carrot & parsnip mash which almost made a suitable exchange for mashed potato, but I did miss the texture of mashed potato.  The carrot/parsnip mash came up a little wetter than I would have liked, but I suspect that a greater degree of parsnip to carrot would have helped that along a bit.  The flavour of the carrot/parsnip mash was delightful - especially with some freshly ground black pepper mixed in.

So, with all those Christmas Hampers winging their way around the country, if you find yourself with a can of Corned Beef that you don't know what to do with - try Corned Beef Pie!  I'm sure you won't regret it.  I even ate the remaining piece for lunch the next day, when it was just as nice cold as it had been hot - which makes me think "picnic!".

CORNED BEEF PIE  (feeds 4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped finely

½ tsp ground cumin

1 x 415g can Heinz baked beans

a pinch of chilli flakes if you like a chilli kick, or a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper, if not.

1 x 340g can good quality Corned Beef, fat deposits removed

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

Plus : shortcrust pastry, enough for top and bottom of your 8" pie dish and a little milk.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 180deg C/350deg F/Gas 4.

2.  In a frying pan, heat the oil and add the chopped onions.  Fry gently until the onions have begun to caramelise and are softly golden brown.  Add the cumin and stir well.

3.  Add the baked beans and heat through, adding the chilli or cayenne and the tomato ketchup.  Stir to combine.

4.  Once the mixture is heated through, add the cubed Corned Beef.  From this point on, it is undesirable to stir the mixture very much, or the cubes of corned beef will dissolve into a mush.  What you want, is to retain the individual pieces as much as possible.

5.  Taste to determine whether any more seasoning is required and season to taste as necessary.

6.  Leave to cool slightly, while you roll out your pastry and line the pie dish with the first piece.

7.  Add the filling mixture to the pie dish and spread out evenly, ideally with a peak at the middle.

8.  Brush a little milk around the edges of the bottom pastry and lay the second piece of pastry over the top of the pie, completely covering it.  Press down around the edges and crimp to seal.  Cut off the extra pastry, to neaten the edges.  Remember to make three small cuts to the surface of the pie, to allow steam to escape, then glaze by brushing on the remaining milk.

9.  Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

10.  Serve.

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Jamie Oliver's "Kate & Wills' Wedding Pie" - using a slow cooker

Those of you who are in the U.K. can't have missed the fact that Jamie Oliver has a new t.v. programme out at the moment.  Named "Jamie's Great Britain", its premise is that Jamie is seen travelling around the country in a mobile pub (named "The Cock in Cider") talking to food producers and local people about what makes their area great for food, then goes away and produces a dish based on what he's been talking about.

It's a fairly tried and tested, if not somewhat predictable, premise for a cooking show.  Personally, I can't see the point in his travelling in the cumbersome Pub on Wheels (which started off life as an Army lorry) as he is rarely seen doing anything much in it.  Which supports the idea of it being a pub, but he could so easily have just found somewhere else to talk to people, had he have been of a mind to.  Anyway, I digress.

Vote for me!

I noted the fact that the programme had a Facebook presence and, during an idle moment, went along to see the page.  My interest became more focused when I saw that they had what they refer to as a "Snap and Share" thing going on.  Whereby, you cook one of the recipes from the show, take a photograph and upload it to the Facebook page.  (If you go there, give my pie a vote, won't you?).  Now even though I've never been one to photograph my food (removes tongue from cheek), this caught my interest long enough for me to think "ah, but there's rarely any of Jamie's recipes that I can afford to cook", which is sad, but true.  Occasionally, I'll find a recipe that can be downgraded from the stated expensive ingredients to more affordable ones that will do the job almost as well, but it is rare.  However, I thought I'd investigate what the recipe list was, just in case.

There were a number of recipes that just didn't suit for one or other reason, such as Leigh-on-Sea sole (too expensive), 12 hour rabbit ragu (no rabbits available where I live), sizzling lamb lollipops (too expensive), baby Yorkshire puds with trout pate (trout? Too expensive) or Guinness lamb shanks (again, too expensive).  Then, my eye lit upon the Kate & Wills' Wedding Pie, which involved my favourite Beef Shin and rather than spend 2 hours or so cooking it in the oven (which is the more expensive route), I thought I could use the slow cooker to advantage.

Now, apart from having to scale the recipe down to one feeding 4 people, the recipe involved ingredients that were largely already in the larder or fridge and those that weren't - being the beef and the stout - were relatively easily obtained and, more to the point, were affordable.  Now that's my kind of recipe.

The end result is absolutely 100% well worth the effort of producing this pie.  Also, if you make use of a slow cooker, it becomes even easier to produce.

I did the initial preparation in a frying pan - cooking the onions, then browning the meat, then creating the gravy.   Everything went into the slow cooker and it chuckled away on medium until around 4.30pm (about 6hrs).  I had made the pastry in the morning and put that in the fridge to chill, so the assembly of the pie involved adding some English mustard, Worcestershire Sauce and the cheese to the slow cooker's contents (I left the pearl barley out, as my chaps can't abide the stuff), then ladling it into the pie dish, topping with the pastry and bingo - baking.

Upon taking their first forkful of pie contents, everyone did that thing which denotes a great recipe from a good recipe - they chew whilst concentrating with furrowed brow, then the brow clears, they smile, then nod repeatedly whilst the face takes on a look of "OMG - I've never tasted anything so good!".  I thought it would be good - but not quite THAT good!

Such a tidy, well behaved pie!

The filling is just so rich and unctuous, with tender pieces of flavoursome beef that fall apart on your tongue.  All covered in a glorious thick gravy that is the envy of all who have attempted to create a good pie gravy in the past, and failed.  I included a few quartered mushrooms, which were delicious little punctuations in the texture of the pie and lent it additional interest.

I reckon that this pie, cooked with some lovely lamb's kidneys, would make a show-stopping steak & kidney pie.  So on that note, I'll be giving it a go sometime soon!

KATE & WILLS' WEDDING PIE adapted from Jamie Oliver's "Jamie's Great Britain".  Serves 4.

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil
a knob of butter
a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
a sprig of fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped (or half a tsp dried)
a bay leaf
2 medium red onions, peeled and roughly sliced
4-5 chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
600g beef shin, trimmed and diced (start with 700g untrimmed)
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp tomato puree
200ml local smooth stout
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
500ml beef stock

1½ tsp English mustard

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, to taste

50g good Cheddar cheese, grated.

For the pastry :

150g plain flour

50g Atora shredded suet (I use vegetable suet)

50g butter

sea salt

an egg, beaten.

Method :

1.  In a frying pan, place the olive oil, butter and herbs to melt the butter on a high heat.  Add the onions and fry until they are just beginning to colour and have softened.  Add them to the slow cooker with the mushrooms, switch it on to medium and replace the lid.

2.  Add the diced beef and continue to fry on a high heat, until all sides are browned and the cubes have caramelised on at least two sides - but don't let them burn!  Add to the slow cooker and replace the lid.

3.  To the frying pan, add the flour and tomato puree and stir until the flour has lightly toasted.  Then add the stout and stir, then gradually add the stock, stirring in between each addition to break down any lumps that might have appeared.  The object of the exercise is to have a smooth thickened gravy by the end of it.  Pour into the slow cooker and give everything a good stir to settle it into one even layer.  Replace the lid and leave it to chuckle for a minimum of 4 hours.

4.  In the meantime, make the pastry by putting the flour, suet and butter into a bowl with a good pinch of salt.  Using your thumbs and forefingers, rub the butter in to the flour until you have something somewhere between breadcrumbs and cornflake shapes being made between your fingers.  Stir in 60ml of cold water (or thereabouts) and use your hands to pat and push the mix together to form a rough dough.  Ignore the urge to mix or knead, as you don't want to overwork the flour and have your pastry become tough.  Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate until needed.

5.  When you're ready to begin assembling the pie, pre-heat your oven to 180deg C/350deg F/gas 4.

6.  Remove the lid of the slow cooker and give everything a stir.  Then add the English mustard, the Worcester sauce and the grated cheddar cheese.  Give it all a gentle stir to encourage the cheese to melt.

7.  Once melted, ladle the contents of the slow cooker into your pie dish.  Roll out the pastry to fit the top of the dish.  Run a little beaten egg around the edge of the dish and place the pastry over.  Trim to fit and cut a little hole in the top, to let the steam out.

8.  Brush beaten egg over the top of the pie and place in the oven to cook for around 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and looking lovely.

9.  Serve.

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Kentish Pie - what an amazing thing!

My hubby used to enjoy this pie when his Mum used to make it and so when I was looking for ideas for the menu planning, he suggested it.

Now he only had a very loose idea of what was in it and the way it was prepared.  It sounded like a quiche, but with bacon, cheddar cheese and apple - but that didn't coincide with his memory of it.  So, following a telephone conversation with his Mum where she put him straight, we had a go at re-creating the elusive Kentish Pie.

Hubby was very hopeful as it was baking, and even more hopeful when it was done.

Upon his first taste of the pie, rolled his eyes heavenwards and declared "that's the stuff!".  Success!

See my piggy? I'm so proud of that piggy.  LOL

All the flavours - bacon, cheese, apple and egg - go so well together and the apple is, of course, the Kentish connection.

You can just about make out each ingredient, in its layers

This pie, quite apart from being delicious with salad, would be absolutely perfect to take on a picnic, or to a barbecue, or out to Glyndebourne.  It wouldn't let you down, wherever you took it, as it is such a robust individual.  Much in the same way as a pork pie, it won't drip down your ball gown and would be so easy to eat from a paper plate with a plastic fork.  Now you don't get that with every pie!

KENTISH PIE  (feeds 6-8)

Ingredients :

Shortcrust pastry, sufficient for both top and bottom of the pie.
8 large rashers (or 12 smaller rashers) of back bacon, grilled and chopped into pieces
200-250g cheddar cheese, cubed small (depending on how strong your cheddar is)
2 dessert apples, peeled and sliced to approx 3mm (I used a Braeburn and a Jonagold)
7 eggs, lightly whisked, plus 1 egg yolk for glazing
3 tbsp double cream
freshly ground pepper.

Method :

Grill the bacon and chop it into small pieces.  Dice the cheese.  Peel and slice the apples.  While all that is happening, you can be pre-heating your oven to 180deg C/350deg F/Gas 4.

Next, lay your first piece of pastry into the bottom of the pie dish and ensure it reaches the top of the sides.  Cut a piece of baking paper, scrunch it into a ball, then open it out and line the inside of the pastry.  Tip some baking beans into the paper to hold it down and prevent the pastry from bubbling as it cooks.

Bake the pastry for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and allow it to cool slightly.

Sprinkle the first layer of bacon on top of the pastry, then follow with the cheese cubes and the apple slices.  Repeat until they are all used up.

In a bowl, mix the cream with the eggs, season with the pepper and whisk lightly to combine.  Pour the mixture into the pastry case and give it a little shake to distribute it evenly amongst the contents.

Separate the one egg into a ramekin, saving the yolk and discarding best part of the white.  With a pastry brush, break the yolk up and give it a light mix then brush egg yolk around the edge of the pastry case.

Lay the top layer of pastry onto the pie and press down around the edges to seal it.  Trim off the excess and press a fork or knife into the pastry all around the edge, to make a pretty pattern which also helps to seal it.

Cut a cross into the top of the pie to allow steam to escape (otherwise it may blow the lid off) and adorn your pie with decorations cut from the excess pastry.  I made a little apple, a pig (I was quite proud of my pig) and then got stuck as to how to express "cheese", so settled for a simple "C".  Leaves would probably have done, though!

When you're done being creative, give the whole lot a good egg wash and place it into the oven to bake for some 45-60 minutes.

At the end of the baking time, the top layer of pastry will be slightly domed.  To test that it is done, remove the pie from the oven and insert a sharp knife into the centre of the cross.  If you can't see any liquid egg, then your pie is done.  If there is liquid egg visible, pop it back in for another 10 minutes until it's done.

Leave it to cool and eat warm or at room temperature.  After a half hour or so, it is perfectly possible to remove it from its pie dish, which helps it to cool more quickly.

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