Ingredients

• 200g/7oz plain flour
• plus extra for dusting
• pinch salt
• 125g/4½oz butter
• cubed
• 1 free-range egg
• beaten
• 1.5kg/3lb 5oz boneless bacon or ham joint
• 1 onion
• sliced
• 1 garlic clove
• finely chopped
• 25g/1oz butter
• plus extra for greasing
• 200ml/7fl oz dry cider
• 50ml/1¾fl oz double cream
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 2-3 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp chopped herbs of your choice
• 2 tsp cornflour
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 450g/1lb potatoes
• peeled
• boiled until just soft and thinly sliced
• 1 cooking apple
• peeled
• quartered and sliced

Directions

• For the pastry
• put the flour and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Gradually
• add the beaten egg and combine to form a dough (keep any leftover egg for glazing the pastry).
• Press into an oval shape
• a little less than 1cm/½in deep. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (if you are in a hurry
• you can put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes).
• For the filling
• put the bacon joint in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes-1 hour
• or until cooked. When ready
• a skewer will go in and out easily.
• Meanwhile
• fry the onion and garlic in the butter until they are soft and golden-brown.
• When the bacon joint is cooked
• remove it from the cooking liquor and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• In a bowl
• mix the cider
• cream
• mustard
• brown sugar and chopped herbs together. Mix in the cornflour
• using a whisk or fork to break up any lumps
• and then season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Once the meat is cool enough to be handled
• cut it into 5mm/¼in thick slices
• Grease a 2 litre/3½pint pie dish with butter. Layer half the sliced potatoes on the bottom of the dish
• followed by half the cooked onions and garlic. Now add half the sliced apple and half the cooked bacon. Pour half the cream mixture over the layers.
• Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients.
• Remove the pastry from the fridge. On a lightly floured work surface
• roll the pastry out to a thickness of approximately 4mm/ ¼in. Place the pastry on top of the pie dish and trim any excess from the edges (keep any scraps for decorating).
• Brush any leftover egg or a little milk over the pastry as a glaze.
• Roll any scraps of pastry into shapes
• such as leafs or apples
• and use these to decorate the top of the pie. Make a hole in centre of the pie to allow steam to escape. Brush any decoration with egg glaze or milk. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the pastry.
• Cook the pie in the oven for 45 minutes
• or until the pastry is golden-brown and the filling is bubbling.