Bacon and Potato Pie (Irish)

This recipe comes from Enniskillen butcher Pat O'Doherty's Fermanagh Black Bacon Cookbook, and is meant specifically to utilize his trademark "black bacon." This is a nitrite-free product, with less fat than traditional Irish bacon, cured for as long as three months, during which time its exterior gets very dark, if not quite really black. O'Doherty raises free- range pigs for the bacon on Inishcorkish Island in the middle of Lough Erne. Unfortunately, his bacon isn't available in America, so more prosaic Irish bacon will have to be substituted.

½ cup butter (125 g)
½ lb Irish bacon, preferably Galtee's sliced cured pork loin, Tommy Moloney's mild-cured (not smoked or back rashers), or Donnelly's, diced (250 g)
2 lb potatoes, very thinly sliced, preferably on a mandolin (1 kg)
3 shallots, minced
sea salt
2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves
2 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
black pepper, freshly ground
½ lb puff pastry, homemade or store-bought (250 g)
all-purpose flour, unbleached, for dusting
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup heavy cream (240 mL)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

Melt 4 Tbsp. of the butter in a large skillet over low heat and cook the bacon for 8-10 minutes or until slightly crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, then put into a large bowl. Put the potatoes into the same pan and cook for 10-15 minutes or until they are just cooked through but not browned. Put them into the bowl with the bacon and set aside.

Melt the remaining 4 Tbsp. of butter in the pan over medium heat, then sweat the shallots for 2-3 minutes with a little salt. Stir in the tarragon and chives and cook for about 2 minutes more. Allow the mixture to cool, then stir gently into the potatoes and bacon and season the mixture generously with salt and pepper.

Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured board into a circle about 14" (36 cm) in diameter and transfer a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the edges lightly with the beaten egg yolk, then mound the potato mixture in the center of the pastry. Flatten the potatoes out evenly with a dinner knife, spreading them to cover the whole pastry circle, but leaving about a 1" (2.5 cm) border with no potatoes.

Roll out the remaining pastry into a slightly larger circle to form a lid for the pie. Carefully place it over the filling and crimp the edges of the pastry inward. Cut a circle about 2" (5 cm) in diameter in the middle of the pie with a pastry cutter or sharp knife, but do not remove it. Brush the pie with beaten egg yolk.

Bake for 50 minutes, covering the top loosely with foil if it browns too quickly.

Warm the cream in a small pan over low heat. Remove the pie from the oven, gently lift off the pastry circle in the center of the pie, and slowly pour in the cream. Replace the circle and return to the oven for 10 minutes more.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings.