Great British Food Christmas 2024

During the coldermonths, a great pie offers the ultimate opportunity to hunker down and indulge. These recipes from River Cottage will help you do just that FOR THE Love of Pies Classic River Cottage PorkPie This recipe first appeared in the River CottageMeat Book and quite frankly I’ve never found a better one, so the credit here lies withHugh. The seasoning of peppers andmace are spot on; the only thing which I’ve added in is an exact amount of salt, to ensure your seasoning will be just right every time. I always make one big pie and serve it sliced, but you canmake smaller pies, which are slightly easier to transport for picnics or packed lunches, if you like. “I alwaysmake one big pie and serve it sliced, but you canmake smaller pies, which are slightly easier to transport for picnics or packed lunches, if you like” bacon, finely chopped 12 sage leaves, finely chopped 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked and chopped 20g salt 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper 2 tsp groundwhite pepper ½ tsp groundmace A good pinch of cayenne pepper For the jelly: 400ml good-quality pork stock 8 sheets of bronze leaf gelatine 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. 2. To prepare the filling, put all the meats into a large bowl with the herbs, salt and all the other seasonings. Mix well until thoroughly combined. 3. To assemble the pie, cut off a generous quarter of the pastry and set aside; this will be your lid. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the bigger piece of pastry to a large round, about 1cm thick and 35cm in diameter. 4. Drape the pastry over a 20cm springform cake tin and use to line the tin, pressing the pastry into the sides and flattening any overlap with your fingers. It should come 6–8cm up the sides of the tin. 5. Fill the pastry case with the seasoned pork mixture. Trim the pastry roughly, leaving a little overhang. Roll out the reserved piece of pastry to a 20cm round (the diameter of the tin) and about 1cm thick. 6. Brush the edges of the lining pastry lightly with egg wash and lay the pastry lid on top of the pie. Press the edges together to seal and trim away the excess pastry. Crimp the edges. Brush the pie lid generously with egg wash and cut a 1cm hole in the centre. 7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then lower the setting to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 5 and bake for a further 1 hour. 8. Remove from the oven, release the spring clip and lift off the side of the tin. Brush the top and sides of the pastry well with egg wash and return to the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown all over. A probe thermometer inserted into the centre of the pie should register 72°C. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for an hour or so. 9. For the jelly, heat the stock in a saucepan over a medium heat until it starts to steam, then add the gelatine leaves one by one, stirring constantly until fully melted. Remove from the heat and pour into a jug. 10. Using a funnel, pour the stock, Serves: 8 Prepare: 30minutes plus chilling time Cook: 1 hour 45minutes 1kg hot water crust pastry Flour, to dust Eggwash For the filling: 1kg pork shoulder, minced 250g pork belly, minced (or fatty sausagemeat) 250g salt pork, pancetta or streaky RECI PES | RIVER COTTAGE greatbr i t ishfoodawards.com 22