MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Chicken, Ham & Asparagus Picnic Pie
Categories: Pork, Poultry, Vegetables, Pastry, Herbs
Yield: 11 Servings

300 g Asparagus spears
4 Chicken breasts
10 sl Prosciutto
1 3/16 kg Good quality pork sausage
- meat
150 g Shelled pistachios
pn Cayenne pepper
75 g Butter; + extra for the tin
600 g Strong white flour: + extra
- for dusting
1 ts Mustard powder
Whole nutmeg; for grating
75 g Lard
5 tb Milk
1 lg Egg; beaten
Shallots; finely sliced in
- rings
Salad leaves
French dressing (opt)

Trim the woody ends off the asparagus, bring a large pan
of salted water to the boil and cook them for 2 mins,
then lift into a bowl of iced water. Slice the tips off
the asparagus and set aside. Cut each chicken breast
into long two-finger-thick strips, then wrap the
prosciutto slices around some of the asparagus spears
and chicken strips and set aside. Using your hands,
scrunch the sausagemeat with the pistachios in a bowl,
season with the cayenne and lots of black pepper, then
set aside.

Cut a piece of baking parchment to fit the bottom and
sides of a lightly buttered 2-litre terrine dish or loaf
tin, leaving an overhang. To make the pastry, tip the
flour into a bowl with 2 tsp salt and the mustard
powder, then grate in a small pinch of nutmeg. Put the
lard, butter and milk in a pan with 250ml water and heat
until the fats have completely melted. Pour into the
flour and beat with a wooden spoon until combined. Tip
onto your work surface and knead briefly until it all
comes together.

Take 2/3 of the dough and wrap the rest so it doesn’t
dry out. Roll it out into a rectangle to line the dish
with an overhang. Lay the dough into the dish and, using
your fingers, press it into the bottom, corners and up
the sides.

Take 1/4 of the sausage mixture and pat it into a shape
that will fit the dish, then lay it in. Now build up the
pie with alternate layers of the asparagus, chicken
strips and sausagemeat, pressing down the mixture with
your hands as you go, finishing with a bulging top layer
of sausage meat.

Brush the overhanging pastry with the beaten egg, then
roll out the remainder and drape it over the top of the
pie filling. Press the edges together gently, then use a
small knife to trim the pastry. Crimp the edges by
pinching your fingers and use pastry trimmings to
decorate the top, if you like. Brush with egg and pierce
three holes along the top.

Heat oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6 with a baking sheet in
it. Place the pie on the hot sheet and bake for 1 hr 45
mins. Lower the heat to 180ºC/360ºF/gas 4 if the pie is
browning too much. When the pie has 20 mins left, brush
the top with more egg and season with flaky sea salt.
(Don’t worry if some juice leaks out of the side.) It’s
ready when the pastry is dark golden brown or when a
digital cooking thermometer inserted through one of the
holes reads 70ºC/160ºF or more. Leave to cool, then
chill. Can be made up to three days ahead. To serve,
carefully remove from the tin, place on a board and
slice. Make a salad with the asparagus tips, shallot
rings, salad leaves and French dressing, if you like.

TIP: If you don’t have a loaf tin or want to make an
easier version, roll out 700g puff pastry into a large
rectangle about 30 x 35cm and lift onto a baking sheet.
Press two-thirds of the sausagemeat mix along one of the
long sides of the pastry, covering half the pastry and
leaving a 2cm border. Press a line down the middle of
the meat with your finger, lay the asparagus and chicken
along it, then press over the rest of the sausagemeat.
Fold the pastry over the sausagemeat and press the edges
together, before trimming with a knife. Seal well by
pressing the edges again with a fork. Brush with beaten
egg and bake for the same time.

Serves 10-12

By Barney Desmazery

RECIPE FROM: https://www.bbcgoodfoodme.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... West Virginia Mountaineers Don't Care That Ramps Are Trendy
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12)