GENEVIEVE TAYLOR’S RAISED GAME PIE

Taken from Pie!, Absolute Press, £12.99

Serves 6

For the filling

500g prepared boneless mixed game meat cut into 1cm-2cm cubes

200g smoked streaky bacon, diced

150ml madeira

2 tbsp mustard seeds

2 tsp ground allspice

2 bay leaves, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the hot-water-crust pastry

300g plain white flour

1 tsp fine salt

1 egg

110ml cold water

60g lard, cut into 1cm dice

60g butter, cut into 1cm dice

For the jelly

2 leaves of gelatine

1 ham stock cube

150ml boiling water

50ml madeira

To make the filling, put the game meat and bacon into a mixing bowl then stir through the madeira, mustard seeds, allspice, bay leaves and season. Cover and leave to marinate for two hours, or overnight, in the fridge.

To make the pastry, place flour in a mixing bowl and stir through the salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in the egg, flicking a little flour over it. Put the water, lard and butter into a small saucepan and set over a medium heat. Stir until the fats melt and the water is just coming up to the boil, then remove and pour over the flour and egg. Mix with a metal spoon until the mixture comes together.

Tip onto the work surface, knead briefly then wrap tightly in cling film, forming it into a fat sausage shape. Chill for 30-45 minutes to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ 350°F/gas Mark 4 and place a heavy baking sheet on a shelf in the oven to heat up.

Cut two long strips of double-thickness non-stick baking paper and use it to line your tin in a cross shape, with the tails hanging over the edge – this will help you get the pie out of the tin after baking. Cut about twothirds of the pastry into 1cm-thick discs, then place them next to each other in the tin, pressing them out and squeezing them together firmly to make a single lining of pastry that is about 5mm thick all over, with around 1cm overhanging the top of the tin. Shape the remaining pastry into a flat disc big enough to cover the top of your pie, again about 5mm thick. You may have a little pastry left over.

Pack the meat filling into the pastry-lined tin, pressing quite firmly so it fills all the gaps, then top with the remaining pastry disc for the lid. Fold the overhanging pastry over the edges of the flat pastry disc on top, crimping all around the edges to seal. Pierce the top in the centre, twisting the knife to make a hole of about 5mm. Slide the pie onto the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 1½ hours or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Remove and leave the pie to cool in the tin.

Once the pie is cool, take a skewer and insert it into the hole in the top, piercing down through the meat and giving it a little wiggle to widen the hole.

To make the jelly, soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for 10 minutes to soften, then gently squeeze out the excess water. Crumble the stock cube into a jug and pour over the boiling water, then add the soaked gelatine, stirring until dissolved. Stir in the madeira, then set aside to cool to room temperature. Slowly pour this liquid into the hole in the top of the cooled pie – a funnel will help this considerably. You may not need all of the liquid, just fill it up as much as you can. Transfer the pie to the fridge and chill overnight.

When you are ready to serve, use the paper tails to help lift the pie out of the tin, sliding a table knife around to ease the pie away from the edges of the tin if it is a little stuck. Serve cold in generous wedges with some sort of tangy chutney; I rather like it served with a sharp, homemade cranberry sauce.