Liam’s Nan’s Sunday Dinner

Liam
Liam

Series 8

This turmeric-infused pastry case contains a spicy and colourful filling of meat, peppers, potatoes and plantains, richly seasoned with curry powder, ginger and garlic, and topped with salsa just before serving.

Serves: 12
Difficulty: Challenging
Hands-On Time: 1 hr 45 mins
Baking Time: 2 hrs
  • Ingredients
  • Method
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Method

Step 1
Put all the curry filling ingredients, except the potato, oil and plantain, into a large bowl, season to taste and use your hands to thoroughly combine. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Step 2
To make the crust, put both flours into a large heatproof bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the centre.

Step 3
Pour 250ml of water into a saucepan, then add the salt, turmeric and lard, and heat until the lard melts and the mixture comes to the boil. Pour the lard mixture into the well in the dry mixture and mix using a wooden spoon.

Step 4
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and knead for 3–4 minutes, until very smooth and glossy. Cut off one quarter of the dough, wrap it in cling film and set aside.

Step 5
Cover the outer base and sides of the cake tin with cling film and place it upside down on the worktop. Roll out the large piece of pastry to a disc about 1cm thick, and lift it over the cake tin. Press it onto the base then firmly mould it down the sides so the pastry covers the tin with no creases or pleats and is at least 10cm high all round.

Step 6
Roll out the remaining pastry to a neat disc to make the pie lid. Set on a plate or baking sheet lined with cling film and cover. Refrigerate the pie case and lid for about 1 hour, until very firm.

Step 7
Meanwhile finish the filling. Stir the potato chunks into the chilled meat mixture. Heat one third of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add about one third of the filling. Stir-fry so it just starts to colour, then transfer to a heatproof bowl. Repeat twice more.

Step 8
Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6. Remove the pastry case from the fridge and place it upright on the lined baking sheet. Trim the pastry sides with a sharp knife so they are even. Remove the cake tin, then peel away the cling film, leaving a neat pastry shell.

Step 9
Spoon in one third of the cooled filling into the pastry shell. Scatter with one third of the plantain. Repeat the filling and plantain layers twice more. Brush the pastry rim with beaten egg, then gently set the pastry lid on top and pinch the edges together to seal. Crimp the pastry rim, then brush the whole pie with beaten egg.

Step 10
Bake the pie for 30 minutes, until just starting to colour, then reduce the temperature to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/Gas 3 and bake for a further 90 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp. Leave to cool and firm up for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 11
Meanwhile, make the salsa by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. To serve, spoon a little salsa around and over the pie and serve the remainder on the side.