What happened to the Rishi Sunak I knew at school?
Makes: 1 large pie
Takes: 2 hours, plus cooling
Bakes: 1 hour 30 minutes
For the pastry
90g lard
60g butter
550g strong white flour
200 ml water
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
For the filling
300g pork shoulder
150g smoked streaky bacon
300g pork sausages
½ teaspoon dried sage
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
4 large eggs
Line a 2lb loaf tin with a single strip of baking paper, which overhangs the sides to assist you in demoulding the tin later on.
Remove any skin from the pork shoulder, and dice the meat into 5mm squares; snip the bacon to a similar size. Skin the sausages and, using your hands, combine with the diced pork and bacon. Season the mixture with the dried sage and white pepper. Fry off a very small amount of the sausage and taste it, then adjust the salt in the raw mix according to your taste. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use.
Place the eggs in a large pan of cold water, bring up to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and run cold water over the eggs until they remain cold to the touch. Peel the eggs, and slice the ends off to expose the yolks.
To make the pastry, rub together the flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Heat together the water, salt, and lard until it reaches a boil. Remove from the heat and beat this into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon.
When the dough is cool enough, use your hands to bring it together into a ball of smooth, even dough. Press the dough out onto a plate and cover with clingfilm, and leave it to cool for ten minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly flour a work surface, and roll ¾ of the pastry out into a rough rectangle, large enough to cover the inside of your tin. Roll the pastry up onto a rolling pin and lower into the tin: adjust and press the pastry into the tin, making sure it is flush against the corners and sides, leaving a little overhang over the top of the tin.
Place half of the meat mixture into the tin. Create a channel in the centre for the eggs, and place them end to end. Place the rest of the meat in the tin, fitting it around the eggs.
Roll out the remaining pastry into a rectangle the size of the top of your tin. Beat the egg yolk with a fork, and dab the overhanging pastry in the tin with the yolk. Place the pastry on top, and crimp the pastry where it meets. Use a chopstick or sharp knife to create three generous steam holes along the centre of the pie; don’t dig down deeply enough to pierce the eggs. Brush the top of the pie with egg yolk.
Bake for 30 minutes, then drop the temperature to 180°C and cook for another 90 minutes. Leave to cool before easing the pie out of the tin, using the baking paper handles to aid you.
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