Warm Gala Pie With "Matson" Spiced Sauce

Ingredients

Farce Meat
1 pork cheek minced
100g lardo minced
225g pork shoulder minced
1 small clove of garlic grated
1 English onion fine diced
½ tsp chopped sage
½ tsp picked thyme
1 pinch of cracked back pepper
1 x egg
2 x splashes of Worchester sauce
30g bread crumbs
6 quail eggs
Pastry
250g strong flour
50g polenta
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g lard
½ tsp table salt
95g warm water
Matson sauce
15g butter
½ pint brown chicken stock
1 large onion diced
1 clove of garlic grated
3 tbsp mild curry powder
3 tbsp raisins
3 tbsp malt vinegar
1 star anise
Salt to taste
1 tbsp corn flour mixed with a little cold water
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 lemon juiced
6 large leaves of spinach blanched, chilled and dried on cloths
1 tsp chopped coriander
2 egg yolks
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp picked thyme leaves

Method

Serves 6.

First make the sauce by heat the butter in a heavy based sauce pan.

Add the onions and cook until nice and soft.

Next add the garlic and spices cook out for a further five minutes just to release the flavour.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil add the raisins & vinegar reduce by half.

Once reduce you should have equal amounts of liquid to onion , whisk in the corn flour.

Cook out for a few more minutes, then remove the star anise and discard.

Blend the onions until a smooth puree.

Pass through a fine sieve and chill.

To make the stuffing for your pie cook the onions in a little butter with out colour until soft , remove from the pan and leave to chill.

Once the onions are cool mix with the minced shoulder, lardo , cheek and bread crumbs. Next add the thyme, pepper, Worcester egg and Worcester sauce, add the seasoning and fry a little to test the seasoning level if needed add a little more.

Place in the fridge to chill, bring a small pan of water to the boil add the quails eggs and boil for two minutes, remove from the water and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking.

Once thee eggs are cold peel the carefully and place onto a cloth to dry out, his will help the sausage mix stick to the egg, to make the pies all the same size, weight the egg and then add the sausage it should total 60g.

Repeat the process leave to dry in the fridge over night.

The next day remove the balls from the fridge and lay the spinach leaves out a chopping board sprinkle over the coriander and then wrap each leaf over the pies nice and tight, next wrap in pigs caul this will stop juices leaking from the pie.

Place spinach balls in the fridge.

To make the pastry crumble the flour, bicarbe, salt, lard and polenta together, once the fat is fully incorporated pour in the warm water and work until fully mixed, keep the pastry warm as its easier to work with.

Divide the pastry into 50g balls and roll out into 3mm thick discs, wrap the pies crimping the bottom of each pie so that they are perfectly round, glaze with a beaten egg yolk and chill for ten minutes, glaze again and sprinkle with back mustard seeds sea salt and picked thyme leaves , bake in a pre heated oven 185 for 10 minutes tuning at the half way point , whilst the pies are cooking warm the sauce and serve together.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.