Corned beef, potato and onion plate pie

Corned beef, potato and onion plate pie

We are off to England in about 3 weeks’ time, we are first meeting friends for a picnic, now before you say "that's it he is now fully of his trolley" let me explain, I am a member of a food board that had its seeds back in the days when the BBC had a very good food website, alas they neglected it and there was lots of squabbles, WUMs, Trolls Flamers and a lack of pure common decency, that the BBC couldn’t or wouldn’t control. One of the members started up his own food web site and soon many of us joined, while still popping in to the BBC board to join the few sensible discussions and offer advice when needed. But the BBC then pulled the plug and took away the Food Q&A facility, as we had already joined the Wildfood Board, it didn’t really matter to us, but many old friends have disappeared, such a pity.

Now you may well ask what the hell has that to do with a plate pie. Well some of us from the old amicable BBC Food Board would meet up now and again at different venues and have a chin wag, a bite to eat and get drunk (well I did at the last one). There are quite a few who live in or quite close to East Anglia and so they have a Picnic each year, yes a good old knotted hankie, trousers rolled English Picnic. Linda and I have decided to go this year (we have done Dublin, Cheltenham, London and a couple of smaller ones) we are then going on to molest my Brother and Sister-in-law for a few days down in Dorset. I am really looking forward to it and Linda needs a bit of a Holiday.  We are doing the savoury pies for the spread, so now you know why I am making them, not that I am going to keep them until the picnic, they are a trial, a sort of dry run and my mate at work has been off sick and needs a bit of building up!

So without further ado, let me introduce the one and only “ Ma Smith’s” Corned Beef, Potato and Onion Plate Pie. Now “Wor Mam” never used herbs in her pastry but the rest is as printed or would be if I had her recipe.

Filling

1 tin of Corned Beef (please not Fray Bentos, if we ever meet I shall explain why, I have been to Fray Bentos!!!!)

5 or 6 medium potatoes, peeled and 4 quartered and 2 diced

1 medium or ½ a large onion chopped quite small

1 clove of garlic, pressed

Plenty of fresh ground pepper

Dice the corned beef,

put the potatoes into 2 separate pans to cook and fry the onions and garlic.

 While the spuds are boiling and the onions cooking (very low heat in a little oil) you can now make the:

Pastry

225g of plain flour

50g of lard

50g of butter

½ tsp. each dried marjoram, oregano and thyme (any herbs you wish but I had some left over from last night)

Good pinch of salt

Enough ice cold water to bring it together (about 2 table spoons)

1 egg beaten for the sealing and the wash

Make sure all of the fats are cold, dice into cubes about 1cm², weigh out the flour, add the herbs and salt mix well, add the fats and with your fingertips (I keep mine cold by holding them under cold running water) rub the fats and flour quickly together until it resembles soft bread crumbs, now add the water a little at a time, mixing with the blade of a normal knife until it comes together, need it into a ball, do not overwork it, pat flat wrap in foil and refrigerate until ready to use.

The cubed spuds will be ready first, drain and set aside, turn the heat off from under the onions, they shouldn’t be too coloured. When the other spuds are soft, mash them with a good knob of butter,

 then mash in the Corned Beef, add the onions and stir in, give it a good grinding of black pepper. Now add the potato cubes and fold into the filling,  Filling finished!

Here you will need a tin plate, “Wor Mam” used “Wor Dads” this he had brought back from his last ship in 1946, but I don’t have that heirloom, I bought a one from T-Max last time I was in Newry (funny coincidence, “Wor Dads” last ship was HMS Dundalk, and Dundalk is just across the border in the Irish republic).

Grease the plate with a bit of butter or lard, which ever you have nearest at hand. Take the pastry out of the fridge and cut in half, roll out one half, large enough to cover the plate.

Dress around the edges with the back of a knife, while turning the plate with one hand at eye level, (that was how “Wor Mam” done it).

Place the filling on top, brush the lip with beaten egg and roll out the second piece large enough to cover the whole lot, put this on top and press the edges together with a fork again dress the edges.

Brush the top with beaten egg (or as the Hairy Bikers say an eggy wash).

Put into the top of a pre-heated (190°C) oven for 35-40 minutes (check as it gets near the end of the cooking time, we don’t want it over done do we?)

Finished Job.

This pastry was so short, it wouldn’t come up to the shins of a leprechaun, it was wonderful and light and the herbs gave the pie a very nice finishing touch.

Now the next one is bacon and egg, or even sausage, bacon and egg, I could well make the Hairies one as this has whole eggs in it as did “Wor Mams”