These pork pies have a tasty quail's egg hidden inside - as seen on on The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
Ingredients
- 300 g10½ oz plain flour
- 60 g2 oz strong flour
- 75 g2¾ oz unsalted butter
- 75 g2¾ oz lard
- 150 ml5¼ fl oz boiling water
- 1 tsp salt
For the pork filling:
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 250 g8¾ oz pork loin chopped finely
- 70 g2½ oz unsmoked back bacon
- Small bunch of parsley, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 6 quails eggs, soft boiled and peeled
- 1 egg, beaten for eggwash
Method: How to make Small pork pies with quail eggs
In a bowl rub 75g butter into the flour.
Place the lard in a pan and heat until it melts. Leave to one side.
Add the salt to the boiling water to dissolve, then add to the lard and stir until melted. Then pour this over the flour and butter mixture and mix with a spoon. As soon as it is cool enough, tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work together into a ball - be sure that it's not too hot when you start to work it. When the dough ball has been formed leave to cool slightly. If it's still lumpy work it a minute or two longer.
Put the dough on a lightly-floured surface and using a rolling pin roll out to 3-5mm thick. The dough should be glossy and still warm to touch.
Using a 6-inch cutter, cut bases to line your muffin tray, then cut 6 x 4 inch lids out too and leave to the side.
To make the pork filling:
Put all the ingredients, except the eggs, in a bowl and mix well. Spoon a teaspoon of the mixture into each lined muffin tin, place an egg in the middle and top with another teaspoon of the pork mixture.
Brush the edge of each pastry base with the eggwash and place the lid on the top and crimp to seal. Using a piping nozzle make a hole in the top of each pie then brush with an eggwash.
Place in a preheated oven set at 190C for 50 minutes.
Whilst the pies are baking, disslove ½ a chicken stock cube into 150ml of boiling water and add half a leaf of soaked gelatine. When the pies come out of the oven pour a little of the gelatine mixture into the holes of each pie.
Leave to cool overnight or put in the fridge for a couple of hours.
