Eyes on the Pies

Pies might be the most quintessentially British dish there is.

As a nation, we’re borderline obsessed by rich fillings encased in a flaky, buttery crust. In fact, the average Brit scoffs a whopping 2,160 pies over their lifetime. And for good reason, the pie is a magical piece of gastronomy, is there any other food capable of containing the equivalent of an entire meal (gravy included) which you can hold with ease in the palm of your hand? Someone who is passionate about pies is Chunk of Devon founder, Simon BryonEdmond.

He says: “I get a bit fed up because pies so often get a bad press - people laugh and talk about pies making you fat. Funny how cupcakes never attract the same attention, even if they are packed with sugar, which really can make you fat. “There is something extra special about a good pie — succulent chunks of meat bathed in rich naturally made gravies with rich ales and wines and wrapped in a sensational buttery pastry. What’s not to like? It’s also to do with the comfort-food thing. Pie and mash and peas — even the thought of it makes you feel good. “I think people associate good times with pies. We sell huge numbers at sports events and other big occasions when people are out and about enjoying themselves. And you can eat a pie anywhere, can’t you? My first date with my wife Suzi featured pie and chips — that’s what we ate in her old fashioned Mini on Kingsbridge quay. I’ll never forget it.”

But while we’ve adopted the pie as our quasi-national dish, the origins of the dish are actually Italian with the first example of meat filling enclosed in pastry having been traced back to ancient Rome. And while the pastry is now an integral part of a pie (is it even a proper a pie if there’s no pastry on the bottom?), the crust was originally used as a sort of container to preserve the food and were discarded once the filling had been eaten. Here at Foodlover though we’re definitely in favour of eating the pastry, and we’ve got some great advice on making sure your pastry and pie making is a success this British Pie Week.

BAKE FOR SUCCESS

RAISED PORK PIE WITH HOT WATER PASTRY

MAKES 1

FOR THE HOT WATER PASTRY

300g plain white flour

Pinch of salt

1 egg

150ml water

100g lard Butter, for tin

FOR THE PORK PIE FILLING

1 tsp chopped sage

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp mace

¼ tsp ground pepper

300g minced pork

200g pork sausage meat

200g bacon cubes

1 tsp lemon rind,

FOR THE HOT WATER PASTRY

1 Put the flour and salt into a bowl and stir to combine.

2 Break the egg into the middle of the flour. Beat the egg, in the bowl, combining it with the flour until it is dispersed through the flour. 3 Measure the water into a saucepan, add the lard and put over a medium heat.

4 As soon as the pan comes to the boil, remove it from the heat.

5 Pour the hot liquid into the flour mixture while stirring.

6 Using your hands gather the mix together to form a soft and smooth ball of dough.

7 Cover and leave for 20 minutes.

FOR THE FILLING

1 Measure the sage, salt, mace and ground pepper into a small bowl and stir to combine.

2 Finely grate the lemon rind into the bowl and stir to make the seasoning mix.

3 Put the pork mince, sausage meat and chopped bacon into a mixing bowl and mix together well.

4 Stir in the seasoning mix. TO MAKE THE PIE

1 Pre heat the oven to 170˚C/Gas Mark 3.

2 Rub butter generously around the base and sides of a 15cm/6” round, loose bottom, deep cake tin or insert a baking liner. 3 Take two thirds of the pastry and press it into the bottom and sides of the dish.

4 Tip the pie filling into the pastry lined tin and smooth the top.

5 Moisten the pastry rim with water.

6 Lightly dust the work surface with flour, put the remaining dough in the middle and sprinkle it with more flour.

7 Roll the pastry into a 15cm/6” circle.

8 Brush a little water around the circumference of the pastry circle. 9 Press a 3cm/1¼” cookie cutter or egg cup into the centre of the pastry and remove the small pastry circle. This will allow steam to escape during cooking.

10 Transfer the pastry circle over the filled pie, inverting it so the moistened side is down.

11 Press, pinch or crimp together the outside edges using your fingers or the flat prongs of a fork.

12 Brush the remaining beaten egg over the top of the pie.

13 Place the pie on an oven tray and bake for 70-80 minutes until golden.

14 Allow the pie to cool completely in the tin.

15 Carefully push and lift the cold pie out of the tin.

16 Wrap the pie and refrigerate. Best eaten within 3-4 days.

Recipe by Doves Farm (dovesfarm.co.uk)