Chicken, Pistachio and Ham Pie

You can serve this pie hot, straight out of the oven (no need for steps 9 and 10), but the method below is more akin to a pork pie for serving chilled or at room temperature.

Hands-on time 45min, plus cooling and (overnight) chilling.

Cooking time about 1hr 30min. Serves 12

FOR THE PASTRY

 Vegetable oil, to grease  700g plain flour

 115g lard, cut into cubes  115g butter, cut into cubes  1 egg, beaten

FOR THE FILLING

 1tbsp vegetable oil

 1 onion, finely chopped  650g skinless chicken thigh fillets  60g pistachio kernels, roughly chopped

 2tbsp fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped

 175g pulled ham, see GH Tip  1tbsp wholegrain mustard FOR THE JELLY

 200ml chicken stock  1½ sheets platinum grade leaf gelatine, we used Dr. Oetker

1 Grease a 20.5cm round springform tin and put on to a large baking tray. To make the pastry, put the flour and 1tsp fine salt into a food processor. Next, melt the lard, butter and 250ml water in a small pan over low heat. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil.

2 With the motor running on the food processor, add the hot lard mixture and whizz until the pastry nearly comes together. Tip on to a work surface and knead until smooth.

3 Break off ⅔ of the pastry (wrap remaining ⅓), roll out and use to line the greased tin, pressing well into the edges and leaving some pastry hanging over the sides (don’t worry if it breaks, just work it back into place, it won’t make the pastry tough). Chill for 10min.

4 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. To make the filling, heat the oil in a small frying pan over low heat and cook the onion for 5min, until softened. Tip into a large bowl and leave to cool for a few min.

5 Meanwhile, pulse the chicken in a food processor until it resembles mince. Empty into the onion bowl along with the pistachios, thyme, 1tsp fine salt and ½tsp freshly ground black pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the ham and mustard.

6 Press ½ the chicken mixture into the pastry-lined tin. Top with the ham in an even layer, then press on the remaining chicken mixture.

7 Roll out remaining pastry until large enough to cover the filling. Lift on to the tin and press edges to seal. Trim excess then crimp the edges, making sure the crimping sits inside the tin or the cooked pie will be hard to remove. Brush the top pastry with beaten egg (set egg aside). Poke a hole in the centre of the lid with the handle of a wooden spoon.

8 Cook for 40min, then carefully unclip and remove the outside ring of the tin (leaving the pie on its base on the baking tray). Brush all over with egg and return to the oven for 35-40min to set the sides and cook through. Take out of oven and set aside to cool slightly for 10min.

9 For the jelly, pour the stock into a pan and lay on the gelatine. Leave to soak (off heat) for 5min. Heat gently, until the gelatine dissolves. Empty into a jug. Using a funnel, or with a steady hand, pour a little stock into the hole. Keep adding stock until the pie will take no more (you may not need it all). Leave the pie to cool for 30min, then chill overnight.

10 Allow to come up to room temperature before serving in slices (or serve chilled, if you prefer). PER SERVING 454cals, 22g protein, 22g fat (9g saturates), 41g carbs (1g total sugars), 2g fibre FREEZE AHEAD Prepare to end of step 9 and freeze cooked pie whole, or in slices, well-wrapped, for up to 1 month. To serve, defrost in the fridge and serve chilled or allow to come to room temperature and serve.