Christmas Pie and Christmas Ham

Every year christmas evokes memories of such delights as the festive ham, pies, pastry and other such indulgent treats. I therefore thought I'd share with you a recipe for a pie at christmas, a christmas ham and how the two interlink.

To start with the pie (which is based upon a spiced pork pie recipe) is made with hot water crust pastry. Do not be afraid. I was fearful the first time I made this pastry, and it didn't help that it was a Gordon Ramsay's recipe that seemed to suggest everything that could posibly go wrong. Since then I've discovered that there are some simple rules to hot water crust pastry...namely:-
Don't fiddle with it too much
Don't worry about rolling it out for the base, sometimes pushing the pastry into the bottom of the tin is more effective.
If it cools too quickly and begins to crack, pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds maximum, and hey presto it becomes soft and pliable again

It was whilst I was simmering my ham for christmas, that I hit upon the idea of using the ham stock, simmered with a pigs trotter for a tasty jelly for my pie. It works really well, and means you get little or no wastage. Anyway onto the food.

For the ham you will need

1 x 2kg ham, uncooked
3 bay leaves
2 carrots
4 sticks celery
10 peppercorns
4 juniper berries (optional)
cinnamon stick
1 bulb garlic sliced in two
1 onion roughly chopped

For the glaze
4 tbsp marmalade
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp dark brown sugar


Begin by placing the ham in a large stock pot, adding all of the other ingredients and enough water to cover the ham - bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 1.5-2 hours. You may need to top up the water occasionally - if so, use hot water from a kettle to avoid slowing down the cooking process.

Once the ham has been simmered, remove and leave to cool slightly. Remove the outer rind, leaving the thin layer of fat intact. Don't worry about studding the fat with cloves - however do score the fat in diamonds as this helps the glaze to get into the ham.

Place the ham onto a roasting tray, mix the glaze ingredients together and smear all over the ham. Bake at approximately 170oc for 45-60 minutes, basting occasionally. Allow to cool and enjoy.

Now, onto the pie - if you don't want to make a christmas pork pie, then use the ham stock to make a ham and lentil soup. Anyway, for the pie you will need:-

0.5kg minced pork shoulder
some of the rind from the ham, very finely chopped or minced
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
170g of the ham you have cooked, cut into small 1cm chunks. If you do not have any cooked ham then use panchetta or bacon.
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
salt and black pepper
half tsp nutmeg or mace

In a frying pan gently fry the onion and garlic until the onions are softened and translucent. Allow to go cold, and using your hands, mix the pork, rind, onions/garlic, spices, ham (or panchetta/bacon) and season with salt and pepper. Set the mixture aside

For the pastry you will need:-

450g plain flour
1 tsp salt
200g lard
200ml water

Heat the oven to 200oc

In a saucepan place the water and lard and bring to a simmer. In a bowl place the flour and salt making a well in the centre. Add the lard/water to the flour and salt and mix well - your hands are probably best for this.

If the pastry is very warm and pliable, don't even attempt to roll it out, either allow it to cool slightly or using your hands, push the pastry into the base of a greased tin (I find a 20cm loose bottom, sprung side cake tin works well).

Once you have lined the cake tin, place the meat mixture into the pastry case, but do not press the mixture down, you need gaps inbetween the meat for the jellied stock. The mixture should almost reach the top of the cake tin. Roll out the top and cover the pie, sealing the edges with water. Cut a 1cm diameter hole in the top of the pastry case, to allow steam to escape and for pouring jelly into the pie later. Brush egg yolk over the pie.

Bake for the first 30 mins at 200oc, then reduced the heat to 170c and bake for a further 90 minutes. If the pie becomes too brown, cover with foil.

For the jellied stock you will need:-

Approx 1 litre ham stock, or vegetable stock.
1 pigs trotter (or at a push you can use gelatine)

Whilst the pie is cooking, bring the pigs trotter to a simmer in the ham stock and simmer for approximately 2 hours, topping up the water if necessary. Strain and set aside.

If using gelatine, strain the stock, heat up gently and melt 2 gelatine leaves in the stock. Set aside.

Once the pie is cooked, remove the pie from the tin (easier if you're using a loose bottom or sprung side tin) and return to the oven for approx 5-10 mins to crisp up the outside. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for approximately 20 minutes.

Whilst still warm pour the jellied stock into the pie - you may need to top this up several times as the jelly finds the gaps inbetween the meat filling. This is much easier with the stock made with a pigs trotter as if the jelly sets, a quick 20 seconds in the microwave brings is back to liquid.

Allow the pie to go cold, wrap in greaseproof paper and chill - try to leave it for at least 24 hours to allow the jelly to settle, and the flavours to mix. Enjoy in chunky slices with pickles and chutney.

Happy eating

Cath