This is a recipe which came about when I was given a bag of small, homegrown red bell peppers and I wanted to come up with some different ideas for using them in cooking. I first considered a pork, pepper and pineapple stir fry but ultimately decided on this alternative.
Ingredients (Serves Two)
1/2lb diced shoulder of pork
2 small red bell peppers or one normal size
2 rings of pineapple (if canned, in own juice and not syrup)
1 pint of fresh chicken stock
4oz puff pastry
6 small lettuce leaves
2 plum tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves for garnish
1 beaten egg for glazing
Method
The first and most time consuming step is to cook the pork
shoulder meat. The meat should firstly be browned in a large pot before the hot chicken stock is added and brought to a simmer. The pork should be simmered for around an hour and a half, to become beautifully tender. Note that the chicken stock may well need topped up with some hot water during the cooking time. Do not let the pork boil dry and remember that some liquid stock will be required in the pie.When the pork is cooked, the pepper(s) and pineapple rings should be roughly chopped and stirred through the mix. The combination should then be added to a pie dish, as shown above, covered and left for at least half an hour to cool.
The puff pastry should be rolled evenly out on a floured surface to a size slightly larger than is required to top the pie. The cut-offs should then be used to line the edges of the dish before the main pastry is added to top the pie.
A couple of slits should be made in the top centre of the pie to allow steam to escape during cooking. The pie should then be glazed with the beaten egg and added to an oven preheated to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for thirty-five to forty minutes, or until the pastry is beautifully risen and golden.
The pie should be served with the lettuce and tomato and garnished with fresh basil leaves, as shown at the top of this post.
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