5:23pm Tuesday 17th April 2012
Serves Six
Ingredients
50g butter
50g lard
100ml water
225g plain flour
½tsp of salt
One beaten egg plus another to glaze
500g lean pork, cut into small cubes
250g good quality sausage meat
Six fresh sage leaves – finely chopped
Leaves from one sprig of thyme, finely chopped
½ tsp salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
½ teaspoon white pepper
A little fresh nutmeg
A pinch of cayenne pepper
One bay leaf – torn in three
150ml good quality reduced pork or chicken stock that will set as a jelly
Method
To make the pastry, heat the lard, butter and water in a pan until melted but don’t allow to boil. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, pour in the beaten egg and stir with a wooden spoon until beginning to be incorporated.
Then add the butter, lard and water mixture and mix until you have a soft, smooth dough. Remove from the bowl and knead it for a minute. You should find it quite easy to handle but add a little more flour if it’s too sticky. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge for an hour.
To make the pie, pre-heat the oven to 180C and place all the remaining ingredients, except the bay leaf and remaining egg, into a mixing bowl and combine well.
Cut the pastry into thirds. Take one piece, cut a quarter off for the lid and role the rest until big enough to line a ramekin, making sure it’s moulded well into the corners. Fill with the meat mixture, stopping halfway to add one piece of bay leaf before filling to the top. Roll out the remaining pastry for the lid, brush the pastry edge with egg and seal the lid around the edges with your fingertips.
Repeat with the other ramekins. Using a sharp knife, cut a small hole in the top of each pie for pouring in the stock later.
Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 160C and bake for another hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for ten minutes before carefully running a small knife between the pie and the dish. You should find that it comes out quite easily. Place back, now without the ramekin, on the baking tray, brush the pie with egg and bake for a 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 15 to 30 minutes before warming the stock and carefully pouring equal amounts through the hole in the top of each pie.
Allow the pies to cool completely and store in the fridge but allow to come up to room temperature before eating. Wonderful with pickles and freshly-made English mustard.
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