Traditional Game Pie

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 kg mixed game meat, cubed

150 g streaky bacon, snipped into 2cm pieces

75 g butter

60 g flour

200 ml port

600 ml chicken stock

2 tbsp redcurrant jelly

1 orange

2 large onions, roughly chopped

1 x 390 g jar pickled walnuts, drained and halved

500 g puff pastry

eggs, beaten for the glaze

Steps:

• Put the oil, game and bacon in a non-stick pan and brown over a high heat until sealed. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the butter to the pan, sprinkle in the flour and gradually blend in the port, stock and redcurrant jelly. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Season with salt and pepper and add the whole orange and chopped onion.
• Cover and simmer over a low heat for about 2½ hours, until the game is tender.
• Lift the softened orange into a sieve placed over a bowl. Halve, and push the orange through the sieve collecting any juice. Gradually stir this juice into the stew and add the pickled walnuts.
• Turn the pie filling into a shallow pie dish and place a pie funnel in the centre. You could also use an inverted cup (without a handle), instead of the funnel. Leave to cool before putting into dish or even overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a little larger than the size of the dish.
• Cut a strip from around the pastry, about 2.5cm wide. Moisten the lip of the pie dish and use this thin pastry strip to cover the lip. Brush with beaten egg.
• Carefully lift the rolled pastry on top of the filling and push down the edges with your fingers so that they stick to the pastry on the lip of the dish.
• Trim off any excess pastry and flute the edges. Glaze with more beaten egg. Cut out shapes from the pastry trimmings, and use to garnish the top. Remember to glaze these too.
• Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the meaty sauce bubbling. If the pastry gets too brown, as it cooks, cover loosely with aluminium foil. Serve piping hot.