Pork Pie with Apple Chutney (English)

Amaze your guests with these simple individual pork pies, complete with hot-water crust. Ask your butcher to mince the meat for you, if you don't have a mincer at home.

Apple Chutney:
Bramley apples, peeled, cored and diced (400 g)
soft light brown sugar (200 g)
raisins (125 g)
½ onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. mixed spice
¼ tsp. sea salt
raw apple cider vinegar (175 mL)

Filling:
pork loin, minced (250 g)
pork shoulder, minced (75 g)
unsmoked back bacon, minced (75 g)
½ onion, finely chopped
small bunch of sage, leaves picked and finely chopped
pinch ground nutmeg
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Hot-Water Crust:
all-purpose flour, unbleached (265 g)
strong white bread flour (55 g)
unsalted butter, diced (55 g)
1 tsp. sea salt
lard (65 g)
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing

For the Chutney:
Place all the ingredients in a large pan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until the mixture is thick and pulpy. Remove from the heat and pour into the preserving jar. Leave to cool.

For the Filling:
Put all the minced meats into a bowl. Add the onion, sage and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper. Mix together well and divide the mixture into 6 equal portions.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5).

For the Hot-Water Crust:
Tip both flours into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Put the salt and lard together in a pan with 135 mL of water and heat until the lard has melted. Bring to the boil, then immediately pour the mixture over the flour mixture.

Mix the pastry with a wooden spoon, then as soon as it is cool enough, tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work together into a ball. (Be careful that the dough is not too hot when you start to work it.) Once you have formed a ball, leave it to cool slightly. If the pastry is still lumpy, work it a minute or two longer. Divide the dough in 2 pieces, one piece slightly bigger than the other.

Working as quickly as you can, roll out the larger piece of dough to about 3 mm thick - it should be glossy and still warm to touch. Using the 11 cm cutter, cut out 6 rounds and use them to line the muffin holes, shaping them to fit the sides. The pastry should come slightly above the rim of each mould.

Roll out the smaller piece of dough and use the 9 cm cutter to cut out 6 lids. Use the narrow end of the piping nozzle to make a steam hole in the top of each lid.

Put one portion of the filling into each pastry case. Brush the pastry-case rims with beaten egg and place the lids on top. Crimp together the edges to seal, then brush the lids with beaten egg to glaze. Bake the pies for 40 minutes, until golden brown.

When the cooked pies are cool enough to handle, very carefully remove them from the tin and transfer them to the baking sheet. Brush the side of each pie with beaten egg, then return the pies to the oven for 10 minutes, until the sides are dark golden.

Remove from the oven and serve warm or cold with the chutney.