Retro Corned Beef Pie

I was given a free tin of corned beef, so what else was I gonna do, eh?

There's summat very 'Northern nostalgic' about a tin of corned beef. Just the act of opening the tin, with the little key, took me back to 1980's Christmas hampers. With those orange & lemon jelly slices, the big oval tin of ham, a Fray Bentos pie, and the sugared almonds your mam used to (quite rightly) hide for herself.

I make the pastry here with a bit of lard, just for old time's sake - but also with butter, so it's slightly more for them modern tastes. You can use whatever block fat you like though. Go for full lard if you're proper hardcore.

Retro Corned Beef Pie

This will fill a 9" pie dish, and will serve 8 decent portions.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 375g plain flour

• half a tsp salt

• 225g fat - I used half butter, half lard. Baking block will do the job, but anything from a tub won't be as successful. Keep it cold and cut into small cubes.

• 90ml cold water

• 1 egg, beaten, for glaze

For the filling:

• 1 tsp oil

• 1 tbsp butter, plus a bit extra for greasing the dish

• 150g white onion, finely diced

• pinch of salt

• large pinch of white pepper (black pepper will do, but we're going old school so try the white if you have it)

• 540g of tinned corned beef - this is a small tin plus a big tin, in current supermarket sizes. A little less won't hurt though, so don't worry if shrinkflation happens after this gets published!

• 280g potato (that weight AFTER being peeled), finely diced

• Veg stock cube, preferably - but if you only have chicken or beef, use one of those

• Some sort of tangy sauce, such as HP, Henderson's Relish, or even tomato ketchup if it reminds you of your Nanna. I used HP Honey BBQ, because it's what I had in the fridge and it was spot on.

Method:

For the pastry:

1. a) If you have a food processor: pulse the fat, flour and salt until well combined - a few little lumps of fat are a good thing

   b) If you don't have a food processor: mix the flour and salt. Then with coldest hands possible, rub the fat into the flour until the very biggest bits of fat are only the size of those tiny 'petit pois' peas you get when your mam's feeling posh.

2. Slowly add the cold water until the dough just holds together. You likely won't need all of the water. Don't over work the dough.

3. Split the dough into two pieces - two thirds for the base of the pie, one third for the top. Shape them into flat rounds.

4. Wrap in cling film, and chill for at least an hour. Raw pastry will store in the fridge for up to 2 days though.

For the filling:

1. In a large frying pan, over a low heat, melt together the oil and butter. Don't burn the butter.

2. Tip in the diced onions, with the salt & pepper, and cook slowly, stirring quite often, until they're a bit see-through. It might take 10 or 15 minutes, but don't try and rush it - don't brown them or you'll get a fried onion flavour right through the pie.

3. While the onions are softening, boil the diced potatoes with the stock cube, until they're what they call 'al dente'. (That means still a bit firm)

4. Have loads of fun opening the tins of corned beef. Try not to lacerate your fingers. Roughly chop it all up.

5. Once the onions and potatoes are both ready, turn off the heat. Drain the potatoes well, and stir into the onions, getting them all well coated. Chuck the chopped corned beef in, and mix it all together. Add your choice of tangy sauce. Taste the mixture, adding more salt, pepper and sauce if you wish.

6. Leave to stand while you line the pie dish. Or you can chuck it in the fridge for a bit if you're ready for a cuppa.

   
   
   
   

To Assemble:

1. Get the pastry out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you want to roll it, just to make it a little bit softer to roll. If you've chilled the filling, get this out of the fridge at this point as well.

2. Grease your pie dish well with butter, making sure to get the rim where the pastry will stick. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C fan.

3. Roll out the bigger round on a lightly floured surface, with a lightly floured rolling pin - aim for about 12". It should be about as thin as you dare roll it. Keep pushing any cracked parts back together - you can stick them with a little dab of water if you need to. Keep checking it isn't stuck to the worktop - dust with a bit more flour if you need to.

4. Lift it into the dish. Don't stress if it gets holes, it happens to the best of us. Just patch them up and know it adds to the 80's home made look. Push gently down, so it's in contact with the dish all around including the rim. Trim off the excess by running a sharp, flat bladed knife around the outer edge of the dish.

5. Tip the filling in, lightly pressing it down, and level it out.

6. Brush the outer rim of the pastry with some beaten egg, to help stick the lid on.

7. Roll out the rest of the pastry, and place it carefully on top so it's in contact with the filling.

8. Lightly press the edges together to stick. Trim off any excess, and cut some slits in the top of the pie to let out steam BECAUSE NOBODY LIKES A DAMP BOTTOM.

9. Crimp all around the edge of the dish by making indentations with your thumb.

10. Use the excess pastry to make old-school leaf shapes to stick on top. Or get your alphabet cutters out and put an offensive message on there for whoever eats it. If you're prepping ahead, you can chill the pie at this point.

11. Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes, or a little longer if you've chilled it. If it's browning too quickly, turn the oven down and loosely cover the top with foil.

    
    

Serve hot with over-cooked boiled cabbage and thick gravy.

Or serve cold with a dollop of brown sauce or Branston pickle.

This pie freezes beautifully.