Pork pies and piccallili

Pork Pies

Ingredients:

For the jelly –

2 pigs trotters cut in half lengthways

1 carrot

1 onion

1 bouquet garni (celery, bay leaf, thyme and parsley)

12 black peppercorns

4 cloves

For the filling –

1,2kg boned pork shoulder

225g lean bacon

1 tbsp chopped fresh sage

2.5ml each ground mace, freshly grated nutmeg and ground allspice

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pastry –

450g plain flour

1 tsp salt

275g chilled butter, cut into pieces

2 eggs plus1 egg yolk (one egg for wash)

2-3 tbsp cold water

Method –

For the jelly, put all the jelly ingredients into a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 3 hours.

Strain through a very fine sieve into a clean pan and boil vigorously until reduced by about half. Season to taste and leave to cool.

To make the filling, cut the pork and bacon into 1cm pieces. Put half the pork and half the bacon into a food processor and process using the pulse button until coarsely chopped.

Scrape into a bowl and stir in the rest of the diced pork, bacon, herbs, spices, one teaspoon of salt and some freshly ground black peper.

Fry a little piece of the mixture in sunflower oil, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a food processor or mixing bwl. Add the butter and mix.

Beat a whole egg with the egg yolk and water and add into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. Knead briefly until smooth and then cut off one third of the mixture and set it aside for the lid.

Cover the shape or former with clingfilm (a large glass or tumbler will do).

Roll out the larger piece, cut a circle of dough and carefully mould it round your former. Trim it if necessary and carefully ease off making sure you retain the shape.

Spoon the pork filling into the pastry case and slightly round the top of thee mixture to give the finished pie a nice shape.

Beat the remaining egg in a bowl. Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the remaining pastry and use tto cover the top of the pie.

Cut a strip pf baking paper and tie it around the pie gently. This will help retain the shape in the oven. Hand raised pies tend to be a little bulbous anyway.

Cut a small cross in the centre of the lid and place a small ovenproof pastry cutter in the hole. Leave the cutter in place to retain the hole during baking.

Brush with more beaten egg and decorate with a twisted rope of pastry and pastry leaves.  Brush the top with any remaining beaten egg.

Bake the pie in the oven for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 180C and continue to cook for a further 1 hour, loosely covering the pie with a triple-thickness sheet of greaseproof paper once it’s nicely browned.

Remove pie from oven and leave to cool for 2 hours. Then warm through the jelly and pour into the pie through the hole in the top. Remove cutter used to make the hole in the top. Leave to go cold overnight.

Alternative jellied stock:

Soak 4 gelatine leaves in cold water until they are soft (the amount of water for this isn’t important). Pour 450ml boiling water over a stock cube )pork, chicken or vegetable), and stir until the cube has dissolved. Lift out the sponged gelatine  and squeeze out any excess water, then add to the stock and stir until it dissolves.  Leave the stock to cool but not set and pour it into the pies. Return pies to the fridge and leave the gelatine to set.

Piccalilli

Makes 3 x 340g jars

Ingredients:

·      1kg washed, peeled vegetables — select 5 or 6 from the following: cauliflower or romanesco cauliflower; green beans; cucumbers; courgettes; green or yellow tomatoes; tomatilloes; carrots; small silver-skinned onions or shallots; peppers; nasturtium seed pods

·      50g fine salt

·      30g cornflour

·      10g ground turmeric

·      10g English mustard powder

·      15g yekkow mustard seeds

·      1 tsp crushed cumin seeds

·      1 tsp crushed coriander seeds

·      600ml cider vinegar

·      150g granulated sugar

·      50g honey

Method:

Cut the vegetables into small, even bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Mix well, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a cool place for 24 hours, then rinse the veg with ice-cold water and drain thoroughly.

Blend the cornflour, turmeric, mustard powder, mustard seeds, cumin and coriander to a smooth paste with a little of the vinegar. Put the rest of the vinegar into a saucepan with the sugar and honey and bring to the boil.

Pour a little of the hot vinegar over the blended spice paste, stir well and return t the pan. Bring gently to the boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes to allow the spices to release their flavours into the thickening sauce.

Remove the pan from the heat and carefully fold the well-drained vegetables into the hot, spicy sauce. Pack the pickle into warm, sterilised jars and seal immediately with vinegar-proof lids. Leave (if you can) for 4-6 weeks before opening. Use within a year.