Food From the Farm: October – Apples

Thursday 21st November 2019

RECIPES FROM THE FARM

October – apples – Sarah Huelin Community and Farm Trainee

Pork, apple and prune pie 

A recipe for autumn when a chill in the air can be detected and your body starts to crave a hearty meal! Pork, apple and prune makes for a great flavour combination in this delicious pie recipe.

Equipment and preparation: You will need a food processor and a 23cm/9in spring form cake tin.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 eating apples finely chopped (best to use a ‘sharp’ variety)

100 g (3½oz) ready-to eat prunes, roughly chopped

50 ml (2fl oz) Calvados (or chicken stock)

12 fresh sage leaves roughly chopped

600 g (1lb 5oz) pork mince

3 tbsp. apple sauce

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

For the shortcrust pastry: (Or you could buy some roll out pastry instead!)

400g (14oz) plain flour, plus extra for flouring

100g (3½oz) cold butter, cut into cubes

100g (3½oz) cold lard, cut into cubes

1 large free-range egg, beaten with 1 tbsp of cold water

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large deep frying pan and gently fry onion until softened. Add garlic, apples, prunes, Calvados (or stock), sage leaves and plenty of seasoning. Continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated. Empty mixture into a large bowl.
2. Turn up the heat and fry pork mince until browned (do this in batches if necessary and do not overcook otherwise the meat will become tough). Add to the onion bowl, stir to combine and set aside to cool whilst you prepare the pastry.
3. To make the pastry, put the flour, butter and lard into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the egg beaten with water for glazing the pie, then, with the motor running, add the rest of the egg to the mixture in a constant stream until the dough starts to come together in a ball.
4. Weigh the pastry and set aside 200g/7oz for the pie lid. Form the rest of the pastry into a flattish ball. Place on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a circle about the thickness of a £1 coin, turning the pastry and flouring the surface and rolling pin regularly.
5. Use the pastry to line the cake tin, leaving the excess overhanging the sides. (There should only be about 2cm/¾ in of excess pastry. If you have more, it might mean that you’ve rolled the pastry too thin to support the filling and you’ll need to re-roll it a bit thicker.) Brush the edge with beaten egg.
6. Add the pork and apple mixture to the tin, spreading it out evenly. Roll out the reserved pastry for the lid in the same way as before, place the tin on top and cut around it to make a perfect circle for the lid. Place on top of the filling, pressing the edges firmly to seal. Trim off the excess pastry and press the edges firmly together. Use a fork to add a decorative edge to the pie. Make a small hole in the centre with the point of a knife, then brush with more beaten egg to glaze.
7. Bake the pie in the centre of the oven at 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4 for 50–60 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown. Remove from the oven and use a narrow knife to carefully loosen the pastry case away from the edge of the tin – this will help prevent the pastry from splitting. Leave the pie to stand for about 5 minutes before carefully removing the tin and sliding the pie onto a board or platter to serve.
8. Serve with vegetables and gravy.

NEXT TIME…. I am going to try out sausage meat instead of mince to compare the texture – a good excuse to make it again!

Supported by Exxonmobil Fawley