Yeah, baby! Who doesn't love a good pie with lots of gravy and a few greens? We switch our pies regularly at The Pigs. In fact, sometimes the fillings change day-to-day, as it all depends on what we get from our local suppliers. Here are a few of our favourite pie variations that never disappoint, kicking off with the Jagger and Richards of the pie world - a classic combo that will rock your taste buds for years to come.
Makes 4 individual pies
600g (1lb 5oz) pork, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
80g (2¾oz) butter
80g (2¾oz) flour, plus extra for dusting
200ml (7fl oz) medium/dry scrumpy (we use New Forest
Cider)500g (1lb 2oz) chicken stock
2 celery sticks, peeled and diced
2 onions, diced
2 leeks, slit open lengthways, then washed and sliced
3 carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
1 pack shortcrust pastry
1 egg, beatensalt and pepper
To serve
boiled new potatoes
braised cabbage
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C, 140°C fan (325°F), Gas Mark 3. You'll need an ovenproof casserole dish with a lid to braise the meat. All the veg should be diced. The pieces don't have to be exactly equal but it helps if they're chopped to roughly the same size so they'll cook evenly.
Season the diced pork with salt. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the diced pork and seal until golden brown.
In the casserole dish, melt the butter, then add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the cider. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. You just want it to thicken up and cook out the flour. Place the pork in the sauce and add the prepared veg, the garlic, herbs, mustard and seasoning. Cover with a lid - if you don't have one, use a double layer of foil. Cook in the oven for 3 hours until the pork is tender, then spoon into 4 pie dishes. Leave about 1cm (½ inch) space at the top of the dish.
Turn the oven up to 200°C, 180°C fan (400°F), Gas Mark 6.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to 5mm (¼ inch) thickness and cut it out so it's around 1cm (½ inch) larger than the top of the pie dish. With a pastry brush, coat the rim of the dish with the beaten egg. Gently lift the pastry over the pie mixture, pressing down onto the egg brushed around the edge. Any spare pastry can be used for decoration. We, of course, do pigs!
Once the pie lid is on, make a small hole in the middle to let the steam out, then bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with boiled new potatoes and braised cabbage.