Derbyshire Fidgety Pie

This pie has been in the planning for a while. To celebrate British Food Fortnight I knew I wanted to bake a traditional Derbyshire dish, ideally savory and with pasty. Inspiration came from the most random of places - the latest East Midlands National Trust newsletter. In the newsletter it mentioned the traditional Derbyshire Fidgety Pie. Not a pie I had heard of before, but gave me more of a challenge to try it. Another reason for wanting to use pastry was so I could use my Made in England rolling pin. I don't use it as much as my wooden or marble rolling pin as it is quite delicate, but I love it!

Hubby's family originate from South Derbyshire where this pie has its roots. There are various variations of this pie throughout the Midlands, where they are usually called Fidget Pie. Some with cider, some with ham, some with gammon along with some additional ingredients.



This pie is a traditional dish served to people working in the field through harvest. Essentially it is the Midland's version of the Cornish Pasty as it is a portable, filling meal. It is thought to have got its name from the fact it traditionally was fitched (5-sided) in shape. The key vegetables in a fidgety pie is apples and onions which are plentiful during the harvest and of course these vegetables go well with pork. This version should have raisins in it, but I left them out as I don't like them in savory dishes. Given this ingredient not being used it still made a surprisingly hearty & flavoursome dish.

Rather than baking a pie with both pastry on the top and bottom (trying to make it slightly kinder to the hips!) I baked it in aMason Cash pie dish (made in Derbyshire). In keeping with the South Derbyshire theme I also used smoked bacon from the best butchers around - Chantry Farm Shop in Kings Newton near Melbourne. If your ever near I beg you to pop in. Their meat is second to none and well worth the trip. Hubby & I really enjoyed the pie and I was surprised as to how tasty it was. Perfect for these Autumnal evenings.

Now, you can truly say that this pie has been Made in England.

Derbyshire Fidgety Pie
Makes 2 individual pies

225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
110g butter
cold water
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small/medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 apple, cored and finely sliced
4 rashers of bacon
400ml beef stock
thyme
seasoning
1 egg

1) First get started on the pastry. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

2) Add the chilled water a small amount at a time and mix with a knife until you have a good dough. Roll into a ball, cover in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 min.

3) Preheat oven to 190oc. Fry off the bacon. At the bottom of each individual pie dish line with a layer of half of the sliced potatoes, then all the onions and apple. Sprinkle with black pepper and thyme then layer with the bacon and the rest of the potato. Pour over the beef stock (200ml per pie dish).

4) Roll out the pastry until around 5mm thick. Top the pie with pastry and trim to fit. Make 2 slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape then brush with egg.

5) Bake for 20min until pastry is golden and filling is cooked. Traditionally it is served on its own, but would go well with a side of vegetables.

Oven Baked Red Pesto Chicken

Thankfully we missed to worst of the snow, but it's still bitterly cold with a biting wind. I'm on Chantry Farm's mailing list and today recieved an interesting letter explaining where all their meat came from. With lamb home reared on thier farm, beef from Quenby Hall, Pork from Packington Pork, free-range chicken from Packington Poultry and Derbyshire Dales, free-range eggs from Liberty Farm and fish fresh from the docks in Hull. It certainly gives me a great deal of confidence buying from them as I'm supporting local farmers, something that is very important to me.

Some of thier chicken went into tonights dinner. I've been meaning to make this dish for the last few weeks, but with one thing or another I've ended up cooking something different. It was really delicious and filling and we'll certainly be making it again soon.

Oven Baked Red Pesto Chicken
Serves 2-3

1 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken fillets, diced
1 red onion cut into wedges
1 large red pepper, cut into wedges
1 clove of garlic, crushed
100g basmati rice
1 tin chopped tomatoes
300ml chicken stock
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
5 tbsp red pesto

1) Preheat oven to 190oc. In an ovenproof saute pan, fry chicken in oil until the chicken is starting to brown. Remove from pan. Fry onions and peppers for 4 min. Add garlic and fry for a further 30 seconds.

2) Add chicken back into pan then pour in stock, tomatoes and rice. Stir in chilli flakes. Bring to the boil then bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20 min. Stir in pesto before serving.

Roast Pork with Balsamic Potatoes

Tonight I made roast pork with balsamic potatoes and onions that has featured on a particular *cough* chefs TV programme. It took a lot of pausing the freeview box to get the gist of the recipe!

I have to admit I liked it more than I expected.

For the pork I removed the skin and covered the joint of meat in rosemary, fennel seeds, black pepper and salt. Bunged it in the oven at 200oc for 1 hour, then let meat rest for 10 or so minutes.

While the pork was beginning to cook, I blanched the potatoes for 5 min, then put in a hot roasting tin with some olive oil. Placed a couple of onions and bulb of garlic in between the potatoes. Covered with about 200ml of balsamic vinegar, seasoned then baked for about 50 min.

tip: don't use your best roasting tin for the potatoes, the sticky balsamic mess will ruin it!

If anyone knows why the formatting of text on my blog keeps on changing, please can they let me know!

Coconut Chicken Curry with Onion Bhajis

While I was sorting out the kitchen yesterday I came across a cookbook I haven't used in ages; 30-minute Indian - Sunil Vijayakar and with this weeks ingredient challenge being chillis I knew it had to be something Indian. I was really pleased how both the bhaji & curry worked out. Even though the curry was meant to be coconut curry it certainly had a strong chilli & garlic kick!

Onion bhaji
Makes about 8

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
5 tbsp gram (chickpea) flour ....you can use plain flour
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped coriander
3/4 tsp baking powder
2-3 tbsp water
sunflower oil for frying

1) Mix all ingredients together (apart from the frying oil). Rest for 10 min.

2) Heat oil to 180oc-190oc or until a cube of bread browns in 30 sec. Drop spoonfuls of mix into oil. Fry for 1-2 min until brown.

Coconut chicken curry
serves 2

1 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
250ml coconut cream/milk
2 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp veg oil
2 chicken fillets, diced
4 cardamom pods
1 tsp crushed red chilli flakes
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

1) Dry fry almonds and coconut until light brown. Transfer to mixing bowl. Add coconut cream, coriander, chilli powder, garlic, ginger and salt. Mix well.

2) Fry chicken and cardamom.

3) Stir in coconut mix and chilli flakes. Cover & cook gently for 10-12 min. Add fresh coriander, stir and serve.