Christmas pork pie
Ingredients:
For the broth:
3 pig trotters
200 g pork bones
1 slice celery
1 slice parsnips
1 carrot
1 onion
Peppercorns and salt
1 star anise
2-3 bay leaves
10 twigs parsley (preferably with roots)
For the dough:
250 grams lard
1 teaspoon salt
150-160 ml of hot water
400-450 g flour
For the filling:
700 g pork shoulder, deboned
200 g pork belly (or the edible parts of the cooked pig’s trotters)
30 ml white port or whiskey
120 g smoked bacon
120 g of dried plums
1 teaspoon fenugreek
½ teaspoon garlic powder and ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1 egg yolk for brushing
Preparation:
The preparation of the pie begins two days in advance. The steps are not long, but require time to rest. First make the meat broth. To do this, gather the bones, trotters (rinsed), vegetables and spices into a deep saucepan. Put the parsley along with its roots. Cover with cold water and boil for about 90 minutes (40 minutes in a pressure cooker). Then remove the pork parts and filter the broth. Reserve 300 ml for the pie, the rest use for other purposes. Debone the pig trotters and keep the edible parts for the pie (unless you bought some pork belly). Refrigerate all overnight.
The next day, make a pastry by combining the sifted flour, salt and lard (softened at room temperature) in a bowl. Work the mixture with your fingertips to get evenly buttered crumbs. Make a soft pastry adding the hot water. Cover and set aside.
Chop half the pork in a food processor. Add the plums and belly (or the trotter’s mince). Pulse them a few times. Then, transfer them in a bowl. Finely chop the rest of the meat and stir it into the mixture. Season with fenugreek, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pour in the white port or whiskey. You can also put dried wood mushrooms (as boletus), soaked a moment in boiling water. Thoroughly mix all.
Reserve about ¼ of the dough and roll out the remaining into a circle of 4-5 mm in diameter. Line a buttered loose-bottom cake tin (of 24 cm), taking care to cover the entire height with dough. Then pour in the meat mixture and smooth. Roll out the remaining dough into a circle of 24-25 cm and place it on the base. Press the lid well so it seals the top of the pastry case. Make a small hole in the middle.
Bake the pie at 180°C for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 90 minutes. If necessary, cover the pie with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush the top with beaten egg and return the pie in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
Once the pie is cooked, remove the reserved broth from the fridge (300 ml). Heat it gently the time it turns liquid. Push a funnel into the hole and fill pie with hot broth. But proceed very slowly so as not to make it soak. This done, refrigerate overnight.
Serve the Christmas pie as appetizer (serving thin slices) or as main course (serving larger portions).
