Gammon Pie Food

HAM, LEEK & POTATO PIE

Steps:

• Heat a large frying pan, melt the butter, then add the onion and leeks. Cover, then very gently cook for 15 mins until soft. Add the potatoes after 5 mins cooking.
• Stir in the flour, turn up the heat, then add the stock, stirring until the mix thickens a little. Take off the heat, then stir in the crème fraîche, mustard and ham. Season to taste, then cool, if you have time. Spoon the mix into a large pie dish, adding a couple of bay leaves. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7.
• Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut a pastry strip the same width as the lip of the dish, wet the edge of the dish with egg, then fix the strip around it. Brush the top with egg, then lay over the remaining pastry.
• Trim pastry to the edge of the dish, then ruffle the cut edges with the knife blade to help the layers rise. Cut a few slits to let the steam escape, decorate with bay leaves, if you like, then brush all over the top with egg. Can be done up to a day ahead, keep chilled. Bake for 30 mins until risen.

DEEP-DISH HAM PIE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a saucepan; stir in flour, salt, mustard and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk and onion; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in ham, peas and eggs. Pour into an ungreased 8-in. square or 11x7-in. baking dish. On a floured surface, roll pastry to fit top of dish; place over filling. Seal and flute edges; cut slits in the top. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

HAM AND EGG PIE

Steps:

• Line pie plate with one crust.
• Spread half of the ham across it.
• Then spread the diced hard-boiled eggs on top of the ham.
• Spread the other half of the ham on top of the eggs.
• Pour the white sauce evenly over the ham and eggs.
• Top with the second crust-- crimping the edges tightly and cutting vent holes.
• Bake at 350 for about an hour, until the crust is golden brown.

HAM, CHEESE & POTATO PIE

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes in salted water for 8-10 mins, until tender but still firm. Leave to cool, then slice.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Unroll the pastry with its baking parchment on a baking tray. Reserve 1 tbsp of the crème fraîche, then spread the rest over the pastry, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Season. Layer the potatoes, ham and cheese over half of the pastry, seasoning the potatoes as you go.
• Fold over the other half of the pastry and use a fork to seal the edges. Trim with a knife for a neat finish - the pie should look like a big sausage roll. Mix a little water into the reserved crème fraîche, then brush all over the pastry. Make a few cuts along the length, then bake for 35-40 mins until golden. Leave to cool for 10 mins, then serve with a salad, if you like.

GAMMON PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/425°F.
• Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion, garlic, gammon, sweetcorn and beans for three to four minutes.
• Add the flour, dill, and mustard to the pan and heat for a further one to two minutes.
• Pour in the wine, cream, milk, and cheese stirring continuously.
• Crumble in the stock cube and simmer gently for eight to ten minutes.
• Roll the puff pastry out to one to two centimeters thick, to line a serving plate. Use the plate as a template to cut around the pastry.
• Dot the pastry with a knife and place on a baking sheet. Brush the pastry with the egg yolk to glaze.
• Bake in the oven for five to six minutes, or until crisp and golden.
• Transfer the gammon mixture to a plate or bowl.
• Remove the pastry from the oven and use to top the gammon, to form a pie.
• Serve.

CHICKEN & HAM PIE

Steps:

• Put the chicken in a large pan with the carrots, potatoes, celery, half the thyme and seasoning. Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes. Set a colander over a large bowl, pour in the pan contents and remove thyme. Reserve 600ml/1 pint stock (rest can be frozen).
• Rinse the pan, return to heat and melt the butter. Cook the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, then the reserved stock a little at a time, to make a smooth thick sauce. Add the milk and simmer for 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the remaining thyme, lemon juice and parsley. Season.
• Mix together the chicken, vegetables and ham in a deep 2.2litre/4 pint ovenproof dish, preferably with a rim or lip. Pour over the sauce and leave to cool slightly. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C.
• Roll out the pastry to about 5cm/2in larger than the top of the dish. Cut a 2.5cm/1in strip from all round the pastry. Brush the rim of the dish with egg and press the strip all round. Brush with egg and lift the pastry on to it, pressing the edges to seal thoroughly. Trim off excess, then mark the pastry edge all round with a fork. Make 4 small slits in the centre. Brush with egg and bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp and golden.

PORK & HAM PIE

Steps:

• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then boil the eggs for exactly 7½ mins. Cool in cold water, peel and set aside. Tip the pork, sausagemeat, ham, sage and onion into a large bowl. Season generously and add a few shakes of Tabasco. Mix well with your hands until completely combined. Take about 1 tbsp of the mix, shape into a small burger and fry in a pan. Taste for seasoning. Slightly over-seasoned is perfect.
• Melt a few tbsps lard, brush a 1-litre terrine dish with an even layer of the melted fat, then dust with flour. To make the pastry, tip the flour into a bowl with 2 tsp salt. Put the lard and milk into a pan with 150ml water, then heat until the lard has completely melted. Pour into the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Tip onto the surface and knead until it all comes together.
• Cut a piece of baking parchment to fit the bottom and long sides of the terrine dish with some hanging over the edge. Take about two-thirds of the pastry dough and shape it into a rectangle roughly the width and length of the dish. Lay the dough into the terrine and, using your fingers, press it into the bottom, the corners and up the sides of the dish until it comes to the top and hangs over the rim a little.
• Take half the meat mixture and pat it into a shape that will fit the terrine dish, then lay it in. Use your fingers to make a trench down the middle of the meat. Trim the tops and bottoms off the eggs, lay them, in a row, along the trench, then season. Trimming the eggs like this ensures that each slice of pie will contain both egg white and yolk.
• Take the rest of the meat mixture, pat it out to a rectangle that will fit over the eggs, and press it over the top. Brush the overhang of the pastry with the beaten egg, then roll out the rest of the pastry to fit over the pie.
• Pinch edges together to fix the top. Brush top generously with egg and pierce three holes along the top. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake for 30 mins. Lower the heat to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, then continue to cook for another hour. Leave to cool. Carefully turn dish upside-down onto a board and use the sides of the paper to pull the pie out of the dish. If sides aren't brown enough, return it to the oven on a baking tray at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 until coloured. Cool, then chill in the fridge.
• If you want to fill the pie with jelly, soak the gelatine in cold water and warm the stock until hot, but not simmering. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze to remove excess liquid, then stir into the stock to dissolve. Leave to cool to room temperature, then transfer to a squeezy bottle. Pour the jelly into one of the holes until it comes to the top. Place the pie on a dish in the fridge until the jelly has set, then repeat twice more, so the jelly has filled each hole. Leave to set in the fridge overnight.