Extract taken from River Cottage Great Pies by Gelf Alderson (Bloomsbury, £22 Hardback) Photography © Emma Lee
We Can't Get Enough of This Meatball Pie
This new recipe from Gelf Alderson is perfect for cold nights
Who doesn't love a meatball? These spicy little numbers are delicious and encasing them in pastry ensures they stay super moist during the cooking process. Their tasty juices ooze into the tomato and olive sauce, giving it a wonderful flavour. Use good-quality butcher's mince that has a fair amount of fat - minced pork shoulder would be ideal.
Serves
6
Ingredients
- 500g rough puff pastry
- Flour, to dust
- Egg wash (beaten egg)
- A small handful of fennel seeds
- For the meatballs
- 750g fatty pork mince
- 75g wholemeal breadcrumbs
- 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 medium-heat chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp English mustard
- 100g sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
- A small bunch of oregano, leaves picked and chopped
- 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- For the sauce
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions, chopped
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 150g green kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- 200g cherry tomatoes
- 200g baby leaf spinach
Method
To make the meatballs, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into three centimetre balls and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 210C/190C Fan/Gas 6 ½.
To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10–15 minutes until softened. Add the tinned tomatoes and sliced olives and cook for a further 10–15 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Toss in the cherry tomatoes. Now add the spinach, a handful at a time, so it wilts down. Taste the sauce and season accordingly.
Meanwhile, spread the meatballs out in a deep roasting tray, about 25 x 20cm, and cook in the oven for about 10 minutes until they take on a little colour. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until large enough to cover the roasting tray generously, and about five millimetres thick.
Drape the pastry over the filling and gently press the edges onto the sides of the tray; trim away the excess pastry. Pierce the pie lid in a few places, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with fennel seeds. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
Serve the pie hot from the oven – I find buttered gnocchi works well on the side.
