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You can do a million different variations of this recipe - one of my favourites leaves out the apples and bacon, but adds some sliced sausages (any kind really) which have been browned in a frying pan. I sometimes top it with cheddar instead of pastry, which gives a nice crispy topping. I've yet to try a combination of ingredients which doesn't work. James On Tue, 15 Feb 2005, Martin Frost wrote: > I thought since I'm currently eating this for my lunch I'd post the recipe. > > This is apparently a traditional English recipe, though I have seen various > different versions of it. There is a version in the Porter's English Cookery > book that is basically a ham pie with potato, which has many ingredients in > common (albeit no apples) but a very different balance. The use of suet pastry > rather than shortcrust is not something I've seen in any recipes, but this is > how we do it in my family, and I prefer it like this. > > I have heard that "fidget" is actually a corruption of the old English > for "five-cornered", reflecting the original style of the pie. > > All quantities are approximate. Generally I have plenty of potatoes and > onions in stock, so if I run low I just cut some more. These quantities > work well in a 10-inch casserole dish to serve a generous four. It can > easily be scaled up to feed about as many as you'd care to. > > Filling: > > about 10 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4in thick > about 5 medium onions, roughly chopped > 2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped > about 1/2lb bacon, chopped > black pepper > dry cider > > Pastry: > > 8oz plain flour > 4oz shredded suet > water > > Place layers of potato, onion, apple, and bacon into a casserole dish, > adding a hefty grind of black pepper to each layer, and starting and > finishing with a layer of potato. > > Top up with dry cider to about 1/2in below the top of the filling. > I generally use the cheap dry cider that comes in 2 litre plastic bottles, > but I always intend to try this with real cider at some point. You can > use apple juice instead, but you might need to add salt to counteract the > sweetness. > > Make the pastry - I find it easiest to just use Atora pre-shredded suet, > mix it with the dry flour, and then add enough water to go a bit beyond > pastry and into a sticky paste. Then I simply spoon the paste onto the > top layer of potato and smear the edges of the spoonfuls together with > the back of the spoon. This is much easier than trying to roll out a > piece of pastry the right size. > > If you prefer then you can make regular shortcrust pastry and cover > the pie with that. The suet pastry gives a nice crunchy/chewy top which > contrasts well with the filling, whereas shortcrust pastry tends to just > go soggy due to the steam underneath. > > Poke a hole in the centre with a knife (making sure to go through the > underlying layer of potato), and then bake the pie uncovered at about > Gas Mark 7 for a couple of hours. It's done when the top looks glossy > and brown. > > This is a wonderful feel-good food in winter, as it's full of carbohydrates > but isn't heavy and dry. > > >
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