Artichoke and Chicken Pie (Irish Hartichoake Pie)

Globe artichokes - called "hartichoakes" or "harty choakes" in earlier times - have grown in the kitchen gardens of Ireland ever since the Norman Conquest in the late twelfth century. Lady Rosse of Birr Castle, County Offaly, who still harvests them from land where they have grown for almost four hundred years, reconstructed and published this seventeenth-century recipe from a manuscript in the castle archives. There is one unusual feature: After the pie is baked, a caudel is added to it through a hole in the crust. A caudel is a warm drink of spiced or sweetened wine and egg, a relative of posset and an ancestor of eggnog. It was often added to savoury pies, in old recipes, to replace the moisture that had been baked out of them. You will need thick beef bones with marrow for this recipe; request them from your butcher.

2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached (200 g)
½ tsp. sea salt
¾ cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces + 4 Tbsp. butter, softened (190 g)
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 Tbsp. cold water
4 egg yolks, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
2 beef marrow bones
10 cooked small artichoke bottoms
1 small cooked chicken (1-1½ lb/500-750 g), cut into 1" (2.5 cm) pieces
1 Tbsp. candied lemon peel, finely diced
1 Tbsp. candied orange peel, finely diced
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. ground mace
¼ tsp. ground cloves
black pepper, freshly ground
1 cup dry white wine (240 mL)
2 Tbsp. sugar

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and rub in the ¾ cup (190 g) of cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the single beaten egg yolk and water, and stir with a fork, adding 1-3 Tbsp. more cold water as needed to form a dough that can be gathered into a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and shape it into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or as long as 24 hours before using.

Meanwhile, put the beef bones into a medium pot with salted water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the marrow is set, 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of bones. Skim any foam that rises to the surface. Drain the bones and set aside to cool slightly. Cut the marrow out of each bone in one piece with a paring knife. Slice each piece of marrow crosswise into ½" (1.25 cm) thick rounds.

Generously grease a deep 6 cup/1.5 L baking dish or casserole with the remaining 4 Tbsp. of the butter. Arrange the artichoke bottoms on the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer. Arrange the chicken pieces over the artichokes. Sprinkle the candied lemon peel, orange peel, nutmeg, mace, and cloves over the chicken. Arrange the pieces of marrow on top. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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

Roll the dough out onto a floured board to a thickness of about ¼" (6 mm). Cut a 1" (2.5 cm) hole out of the center of the dough, discarding the cut-out piece. Drape the dough over the filling in baking dish, centering the hole. Trim off the excess dough, leaving 1" (2.5 cm) overhanging the edge. Crimp the edge of the dough, sealing the crust to the baking dish. Brush the crust with some of the beaten egg yolk-water mixture. Set the remainder aside.

Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot, 45-60 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put remaining beaten egg yolk mixture, the white wine, and the sugar into a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, 3-4 minutes. (Do not allow it to boil or it will curdle.) Carefully pour the thickened sauce through the hole in the crust. Allow the pie to stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings.