Alsatian Pork Pie - La Tourte de la Vallée de Munster

By kathryns

Hubert Keller recipe. Serve it warm or at room temperature for an informal lunch or supper, or take it along on a picnic. Use coarsely ground meat (pork) with a loose, fluffy texture. Make it in a deep-dish, ceramic, fluted-edged pie dish

Ingredients

• 4 slices stale bread or brioche (about 4 ounces)
• 6 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 loves garlic, very finely chopped
• 1 3/4 pounds coarsely ground pork
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 large eggs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 sheets puff pastry (11 by 15 inches)

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 75mins
Cooking time 120mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, soak the bread in the milk until very soft. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion has softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Do not let it brown.

Scrape the onion and garlic into the bowl with the bread and milk mixture, the pork, coriander, nutmeg, parsley, thyme, and 1 of the eggs. Separate the second egg, reserve the yolk in a small bowl, and add the white to the pork. Season generously with salt and pepper and knead the stuffing mixture thoroughly until evenly combined.

To check the seasoning, pinch off a small amount (about a tablespoonful) of the pork mixture and cook it in a small pan over medium heat until done, about 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust the rest of the pork mixture as needed with salt and pepper.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 sheet of pastry until ⅛ inch thick and trim into a 15-inch circle. Gently fit the pastry into a large pie pan 10 or 11 inches in diameter. Leave a generous 1-inch pastry border hanging over the edge.

Preheat oven to 400

Heap the uncooked pork mixture into the pan, mounding it in the center.
Add ½ teaspoon of cold water to the reserved egg yolk and beat with a fork until smooth. Brush the exposed pastry edge with the egg wash. Roll out the second sheet of pastry as you did the first.

Fit the pastry onto the top of the pie and trim the edges to match the bottom pastry. Push the upper pastry layer into the pan, effectively sealing the pie. Brush the top with the egg wash and cut a small central hole, a chimney, through the pastry to allow the steam to escape. With the back of a knife make some decorative lines through the glaze onto the pastry and use the pastry scraps to make half-moons and smaller circles to lay in a circular pattern on top. Brush all with egg wash.

Bake approx. 40 minutes until rich golden brown (160 degrees). Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.