Old Big Ears Makes This Himself


Thursday 3/2/2005

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Diary and Notes

There are some dishes that just bring you back to your childhood. Old classics that seem lost in the midsts of time, which hark back to a tradition of cooking as old as the Cotswold Hills. Tetbury pie - what could be more traditionally English. You can almost hear the gentle clapping as Roger Smethwick hits another boundary straight over the head of the vicar (who wasn't paying attention). Red admiral butterflies flap gently in the summer breeze, whilst the women folk prepare a hearty feast of pork in cider with a crispy topping for when their husbands get home. This is olde Shakespeare, foaming ale, mint humbugs. A dish so classically English that it's even named after the town where lives our future king (if he doesn't go potty first).

I have to confess that I don't know if Tetbury pie is served by HRH Charles Windsor when Camilla pops in to borrow a cup of sugar (and a silver spoon of course) but the people of Tetbury love this dish and have made it there own. Sing hussar for Middle England and the Daily Mail.

"Look out Roger, I think that coloured chap at silly point is being put in to bowl and you know what them lot are like at throwing things."



Cake Blog

Coconut and cherry cup: A tasty concoction of sweet pastry, coconut, cherry jam and more coconut.


Menu

  • Tetbury pie
  • Roast potatoes
  • White cabbage
  • Baby Carrots


    Ingredients

  • Onion, carrot, celery, vegetable oil, diced pork leg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, cider, apples, breadcrumbs, vegetable suet, fresh thyme and parsley.


    Preparation

  • Firstly it's normal to use stuffing mix as a topping. I thought I had some but didn't, as such I made some of my own. The ingredients I used are pretty much the same as those in Paxo so you can do either.
  • Filling: Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery and sweat in a little oil until soft. Add the pork leg and fry gently until browned. Stir in a good dollop of English mustard, a large dash of Worcestershire sauce and cover with a good dry cider. Stew gently for about 40 minutes. Drain off the liquid and reserve this for the topping. Place the filling in a pie dish and layer over thinly sliced apples (Bramley if you can get them otherwise Granny Smith).
  • If you've got stuffing use the liquid from the meat to make this otherwise mix some home made breadcrumbs, fresh herbs, salt and pepper and a little vegetable suet in a bowl and pour over the hot liquid. Layer the topping over the pie and bake for 40 minutes.





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