Pork and cider pot pies

Having spent some time in England, I am afraid I was rather disappointed with the culinary fare. Granted it was after I have spent a year in Greece so it was a tough competition to follow. I am also hoping I was simply extremely unlucky and things have improved since then. But all these years later, only a few meals still stand out in my memory. Namely, the offerings of Chinatown (largely, I suspect, because a Chinese friend gave me a tour), an extravagant passion fruit dessert at Tate Modern and pork cider pot pies.

This recipe would be perfect for testing the pastry from the previous post. However, if you are pressed for time then pre-made pastry would be an acceptable substitute. These pork cider pot pies retain a bit of a crunch from the vegetables because I prefer them this way. But if you are not a fan of that, then just cook the filling a little bit longer.

Pork and cider pot pies ingredients:

• 3tbsp flour
• 500g pork cubes
• 3tbsp oil
• 1 onion
• 3 celery sticks
• 2 carrots
• 2tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 330ml cider
• 1/2tsp thyme
• 1c frozen peas
• about 200g (or half of this recipe) puff pastry
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Season 3tbsp of flour with some salt and pepper and lightly coat 500g pork cubes with it.
2. Heat 3tbsp oil in a large pan and brown the floured pork cubes on all sides.
3. While the pork is browning, chop 1 onion, 3 celery sticks and 2 carrots.
4. Transfer the browned pork cubes onto a plate.
5. Fry the chopped vegetables in the remaining oil for about 5 minutes.
6. Add 2tbsp wholegrain mustard and 330ml cider to the vegetables.
7. Return the browned pork back to the pan along with 1/2tsp thyme. Then bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes (longer if you don’t like crunchy vegetables).
8. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200C (390F) and lightly beat 1 egg for egg-wash.
9. Lastly, stir 1c frozen peas into the cooked pie filling and take off the heat.
10. Divide 200g pastry evenly into the number of pot pies you intend to make.
11. Spoon the pie filling into your ovenproof dishes and roll the pastry out slightly larger than the top of the dishes.
12. Cover the dishes with the pastry gently pushing down on the edges to seal. Brush the top of the pastry with egg-wash and slice few holes on top to let the steam escape during baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve immediately, possibly with some cider or beer. These pork and cider pot pies can also be refrigerated after they cool off and reheated the next day.

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