One of our Christmas presents this year was Jamie Oliver’s latest cookbook, Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain (thanks Jo and Ben). We’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything we’ve made from it so far, so much so that we had to make the Lincolnshire Poacher Pie again. It’s a little time consuming (my fiancé can speak to that more than me) but so worth it. And don’t let the homemade crust scare you… it doesn’t have to be perfect to be delicious (my fiancé’s boldness when it comes to this is inspiring!). A special thanks to our friend, Suzanne….we used your pie dish again! We promise to return it to you very soon!

LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER PIE

INGREDIENTS Serves 12

FOR THE PASTRY
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
8 oz cold unsalted butter
Sea salt and white pepper
1 large free-range egg, beaten

FOR THE FILLING
Olive oil
A bunch of fresh thyme
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
1 lemon
3 1/3 lbs zucchini, a mixture of yellow and green, finely sliced
Sea salt and ground pepper
10 1/2 oz Lincolnshire Poacher cheese
A small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
9 oz kosher salt
A few sprigs of fresh thyme

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Blitz the flour and butter in a food processor with a pinch of salt and a few good pinches of pepper until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Tip on to a work surface, make a well in the center and add 3 1/2 ounces of cold water. Gently mix until it starts to come together, then, most importantly for a short, crumbly pastry, have the confidence to only just press, pat and almost hig it together to form a rough, scruffy ball. Pop it into a floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill while you’re making the filling.

Put a drizzle of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat and pick in the leaves from half the bunch of thyme. Add a few gratings of nutmeg, the jest of half the lemon, the sliced zucchini and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently (the zucchini will cook down and become easier to handle) stirring occasionally for around 25 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low and cook for another 20 minutes, so the zucchini mixture becomes dense and the flavors really intensify and sweeten. Allow to cool a little, then chop and crumble in teh cheese, then chop and add teh mint leaves. Set aside.

Halve the pastry and roll each half into a circle just under 1/3 inch thick and slightly larger than the pie dish (roughly 9 inches diameter and 2 inches deep). Don’t worry if the pastry breaks up, that’s normal. Just patch it. Roll one of the circles around the rolling pin and carefully unroll over the pie dish. Gently press the pastry into the corners and sides of the dish, then spoon and spread all your zucchini mixture into the dish. Carefully unroll the pastry lid over the top, then flour your thumb and forefinger and gently pinch and crimp the edges together. Trim off any excess pastry and brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg.

Cook for one hour or until pie is golden, then allow to cool and serve. Yum!

The pie was a huge hit!