A
home-made pork pie is ideal as part of a summer meal for a group of family and
friends, especially if you don’t care for barbecues or feel like a change. It also works very well as part of a picnic,
or for an effortless dinner after a long day at work – once cooked and cooled,
it needs no further work, just cut a slice and serve with salad. It’s also surprisingly easy to make, as hot-water
pastry is very forgiving.
Here’s
my recipe.
Pork pie
Pastry
10 oz
(approx 300 g) strong white flour*
4 oz
(approx 125 g) lard
0.5
teaspoon (0.5 x 5 ml spoon) salt
Hot
water to mix
Filling
1.25
lb (approx 500 g) minced pork
4 oz
(approx 125 g) smoked streaky bacon (or back bacon if preferred)
1
teaspoon (1 x 5 ml) ground nutmeg
1
Tablespoon (1 x 15 ml spoon) fresh sage leaves (or other herbs of your choice)
8 oz
(approx 250 g) carrot
Grease
a deep cake tin about 6 inches (approx 15 cm) in diameter. If the tin doesn’t have a loose base, fold a
long strip of tinfoil into three lengthwise (so you get a triple-thickness
strip), and lay it across the bottom of the tin and up the two opposite sides. Make sure it is long enough to extend well
past the top of the tin so that you can grasp the two ends easily. The tinfoil strip will help to lift the pie
out of the tin after it is cooked.
Rub
the lard into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir
in approximately 6–7 Tablespoons (6–7 x 15 ml spoons) of very hot water and mix
well. The mixture should form a ball of stiff
dough. If it is floury and flaky, add a
little more hot water. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Set
the pastry aside for a few minutes to cool.
Chop
the bacon into small pieces.
Peel,
wash and grate the carrot.
Chop
the sage (or other herbs) finely.
Mix
the minced pork, chopped bacon, grated carrot, nutmeg and chopped herbs in a
large bowl and season with ground black pepper and a little salt.
Roll
out three-quarters of the pastry into a large circle. Line the greased cake tin with the circle of
pastry, pushing the pastry well down into the corners. If the pastry tears, dampen the edges with
water and press them back together.
Put
the filling into the pastry case and press down firmly. Fold the edges of the pastry case down over
the filling.
Roll
out the other quarter of the pastry into a circle big enough to make a
lid. Dampen the ring of folded-down
pastry with water, and put the pastry lid on top. Trim off any excess pastry.
Roll
out the pastry trimmings to make decorations of your choice for the top of the
pie.
Brush
the top of the pie with milk.
Cook
in the centre of a slow oven, about 150–160 C, for about 2 to 2.5 hours, until
the pastry is golden brown.
Remove
the pie from the oven, and run a palette knife around the sides of the tin to
loosen it. Don’t try to take the pie out of
the tin yet.
Cool
the pie in the tin on a wire rack.
When
the pie is completely cool, run a palette knife around the sides again to make
sure it is still loose. Then press up
the loose base of the tin (if it has a loose base), or lift the pie out of the
tin using the tinfoil strip. Don’t try
to take the pie out of the tin until it is completely cold, or there’s a risk
it may collapse.
Serve
cut in slices.
I
generally get 8 to 10 slices out of a pie this size, although it depends how
large a slice you cut.
The
pie will keep in the fridge for several days, so you can make it well in
advance, or eat it over several days.
*’Strong’
flour is the kind used for making bread.