The pork pie recipe

Guide for the Pork Pie mix in this week's box

I can only describe this as massive treat. A home-made pork pie is something you can’t compare to the inferior offering you find in the supermarket. Hot water pastry, which you use to encase the moist, tasty, and fabulously meaty mixture in the packs, has rather a mystery and perceived difficulty that people steer away from.

Well don’t go telling your friends, because I still like to produce the pork pie to "woos and aaahs" and lots of praise as to how skilled and amazing I am, but hot water pastry really is child's play. In fact if you still feel a little shaky about it let the kids make it, they have no such fear!

To make a pork pie...

We have made up the mixture of pork meat, which you simply pack into the pastry case you are about to make. Remember raised or hot water pastry is super easy and very forgiving. The mix is made from diced pork leg meat and a sage and sausagemeat stuffing.

If you feel short of time pop the mix in the freezer to go back to later, or you can just bake it in a loaf tin like a meat loaf or terrine. If you do make one, please pop a picture on our facebook page and we can all enjoy each other’s handiwork!!! Just search for G and S Organics if you haven’t found us yet.

If you want to make one "with me", I will be making mine on Friday and tweeting the instructions as I go, along with pictures, so join in by following @Organicbeth and @gandsorganics

You will need:

• Your pork pie meat 

For the hot water crust:

• 50g lard, diced
• 50g butter or another 50g of lard if you would prefer (I like the flavour of the butter!)
• 100ml of water
• 275g of plain flour
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 medium egg, beaten plus some more beaten egg to glaze
• 175ml of good stock that will set to jelly, this is not essential but adds the traditional jelly round the pie. 

Make the pastry first. Put the lard and butter in a large pan with the water. Heat gently until it has all melted, don’t let it boil as you don’t want the water to evaporate. Put the flour and salt in a large, mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the beaten egg, stir gently with a knife to half mix them together. Pour in the melted fat and water and mix together until you form a soft dough. If you feel the dough is a little dry add a little extra warm water. Knead gently, add more flour if the dough is sticky. Wrap in grease proof or clingfilm for ½ an hour and leave to one side.

To make the pie:

• Reserve ¼ of the pastry for the lid. 
• On a floured surface roll out the remaining pastry to make a circle approx. 1cm thick, to form the case for your filling.
• Gently use this to line a small, greased cake tin approx. 10inch diameter. A spring form tin is easiest but not essential. Push the pastry into the corners and flatten the pastry up the sides 
• Fill with the pork mixture
• Roll out the pastry for the lid into a circle the size of the tin, brush the pastry in the tin with a little beaten egg and place the lid in the top. Crimp the to pastry edges together to seal in the porky goodness. Cut a 1cm "steam" hole in the centre of the lid 
• Bake the pie in a moderate oven (gas mark 8 or 180c) for 20 minutes then turn down the heat to 160c or gas mark 3 for a further hour. If you have a loose sided spring form tin carefully remove the tin sides and glaze the top and sides of the pie with the beaten egg, return the pie to the oven for 10 minutes to set the glaze. Alternatively just glaze the top.
• Take the pie from the oven and allow to cool a little
• Once cool pour the warmed jellied stock in through your steam hole in the centre of the pie, if you are using it. Allow it to settle in and fill any gaps inside the pie. You may find a small funnel rather useful here. I like to tilt the pie a little this way and that to encourage the stock to settle in. stop when the stock starts to come out of the hole.
• Leave the pie to completely cool and refrigerate. 

The pie will keep for up to 10 days and will serve a host of hungry mouths. Serve with winter salads like coleslaw made with the green cabbage, mustardy potato salad and pickles.