A spiced Scotch pie with a twist — fragrant cumin-and-coriander lamb in a sturdy hot-water crust pastry, baked golden. Rich, savoury and lovely with chutney.
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tbs Rapeseed Oil
- 2 finely chopped Red Onions
- 6 Garlic Clove
- 3 finely chopped Green Chilli
- 1 finely chopped Red Pepper
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 1kg Lamb Mince
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 3 tbs Coriander
- 340g Plain Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- 90 ml Milk
- 150g Lard
- Beaten Egg Yolks
Tags:
PieVideo
Preparation
- Heat a large frying pan and toast the cumin seeds for a few minutes, then set aside. Heat the oil in the same pan and fry the onion, garlic, chilli, pepper and a good pinch of salt for around eight minutes, until there's no moisture left. Off the heat, stir in the toasted cumin, ground mace (or nutmeg) and ground coriander, and leave to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix the minced lamb, white pepper, fresh coriander and the cooled spiced onion mixture until combined. Cover and chill.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and generously grease a 20cm loose-bottomed round cake tin with lard.
- For the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Heat the milk, lard and 90ml water gently in a pan until the lard melts, then bring to the boil. Pour into the flour and combine with a wooden spoon until cool enough to handle, then bring into a ball.
- Working quickly on a floured surface, knead the soft, moist dough briefly. Set aside a third for the lid and roll the rest out, then line the tin, pressing up the sides until it pokes just over the top.
- Add the filling bit by bit, forming a slight peak at the top. Roll out the reserved pastry for the lid, top the pie, pinch the edges to seal, and trim. Poke a hole in the top and insert a small foil tube for steam.
- Brush with beaten egg yolk and bake for 30 minutes (with a tray below to catch drips), then reduce to 160C/325F/Gas 3 and bake for a further 1¼ hours until golden-brown.
- Leave to cool completely, then chill for two hours or overnight. Run a knife around the edge, remove from the tin, and serve with chutneys, salads or pickles.
