Pork pie with sticky onion chutney recipe

by Peter Sidwell | 5 comments | Print recipe

Pork pie with sticky onion chutney recipe

This recipe isn't quick but the results are well worth the wait! The sticky onion chutney is the perfect accompaniment to this amazing pork pie.

At a glance

Cuisine British
Recipe Type Snack
Difficulty Medium
Preparation time 90 mins
Cooking time 90 mins
Serves 6 people

Ingredients

Pork pie: filling

450 g (15.9oz) Pork shoulder, finely chopped
55 g (1.9oz) Pork fat
55 g (1.9oz) Bacon, diced

Pork pie: jelly

330 ml (11.6fl oz) Water
0.5 Sachet of powdered gelatin (about 6g)
1 pinch Chopped herbs such as parsley, chives or basil

Pork pie: pastry

90 ml (3.2fl oz) Water
225 g (7.9oz) Lard
450 ml (15.8fl oz) Flour
1 Splash of milk or beaten egg yolks, to glaze

Sticky onion chutney

140 g (4.9oz) Butter
4 tbsp Olive oil
2 kg (4.4lbs) Red onions, finely diced
4 Cloves of garlic, finely diced
140 g (4.9oz) Caster sugar
1 tbsp Fresh thyme leaves
75 ml (2.6fl oz) Red wine
350 ml (12.3fl oz) Sherry or red wine vinegar
200 ml (7fl oz) Port

Step-by-step

For the pork pie: To make the pastry, place the flour in a mixing bowl and crumble the lard. Combine the ingredients until they start to come together. Add a pinch of salt then gradually pour in the water, working with your hands until the dough breaks (it must not be stretchable). Cover and set aside for 1 hour
Preheat the oven to 190c, Gas mark 5
Knead the dough on a floured surface and roll out to roughly 5mm thick. Divide the dough into two unequal portions. Take a 20cm flan or cake tin with removable base and use the larger portion to line the base and sides. The smaller portion will be used as the pie lid. When lining the tin, make sure there are no holes or tears in the pastry otherwise the jelly will leak out
To make the filling, mix the pork shoulder, pork fat and bacon and season with salt and pepper. Place this mixture in the pie case, but don't squash it in. Brush the edges of the dough with water and place the dough lid on top, using a fork to seal the edges together. Brush the top with egg yolk or milk
Cook in the oven for 1.5 hours until golden brown
Remove from the oven and turn out from the tin. Leave the pie to cook, then place in the refrigerator overnight. The following day, make up the gelatin with the water according to the packer instructions and add any herbs
Make a hole in the top of the pie and pour in the gelatin until the pie is completely filled. Place in the refrigerator. Next day, your pie will be ready to enjoy!
For the sticky onion chutney: Melt the butter and oil in a larger heavy-based saucepan over a high heat. Tip in the onions and garlic and give them a good stir so they are glossed with butter
Sprinkle over the sugar, thyme leaves and some salt and pepper. Give the pan a good shake and reduce the heat slightly
Cook uncovered for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions are ready when all their juices have evaporated, they're really soft and sticky and they smell of sugar. But they shouldn't be so soft that they break when pressed against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. The secret to deliciously sweet caramelized onions is slow cooking, so don't rush this part
Pour in the wine, vinegar and port and simmer, still uncovered, stirring every so often, until the onions are a deep mahogany colour and the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds. When you draw a spoon across the bottom of the pan, it should clear a path that fills rapidly with a syrupy juice
Leave the onions to cool in the pan then scoop into jars and seal. The chutney can be enjoyed straight away, but also keeps in the fridge for up to 3 months