Method
1. Add the cauliflower, onion and red pepper to a bowl and sprinkle evenly with salt. Leave for 4 hours then empty into a sieve. Rinse and drain well. Blitz the cornichons and onions in a blender then add to the salted vegetables.2. In a clean bowl mix the mustard powder, turmeric, flour and 4 tablespoons of malt vinegar to form a paste. Set aside.
3. Dry fry the coriander, mustard and nigella seeds until fragrant. Add the remaining vinegar, caster sugar and bay leaves and cook on a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
4. Add the paste to the pan and stir continuously on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce becomes thick. Stir in the vegetables, then cook for a further two minutes before filling a clean jar and leaving to cool completely.
Note: this picklelilli can be eaten straight away once cooled, but also keeps for 4 weeks for an even more intense flavour (just remember to sterilise the jars beforehand).
Method:
1. Grease and line a 450g loaf tin. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C Fan / Gas 6. Combine the sausagemeat, minced pork, bacon, thyme and spices in a large bowl.
2. To make the pastry, melt the butter and lard in a pan then add 4 tbsp of water. Meanwhile place the flour in a bowl, make a well in the centre, add the egg yolk and mix until combined. Add the butter and lard, bringing it together until it forms a shiny dough.
3. Roll out two thirds of the pastry and line it in the loaf tin. Keep the remaining dough warm under a tea towel. Add a layer of pickled walnuts to the bottom of the loaf tin then top with a third of the meat filling. Add the 4 eggs in a line, nestling them into the meat. Add the rest of the meat and push down carefully to surround the eggs.
4. Roll out the remaining dough to form a lid then brush the edges with egg, pop the lid on and seal and crimp the edges. Glaze all the pastry with the remaining egg.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180°C / 160°C Fan / Gas 5 and cook for a further hour, until golden brown.
6. Leave to cool in the tin before removing and slicing, then serve with the ‘picklelilli’.
Ingredients
For the “picklelilli”:
• 200g cauliflower, finely chopped
• 100g onion, finely chopped
• 100g red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp salt
• 150g Opies Cornichons and Onions, drained
• 2 tbsp English mustard powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 300ml malt vinegar
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp nigella seeds
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
Pickled Walnut Gala Pie:
Ingredients
• 300g sausage meat
• 200g minced pork
• 4 streaky bacon rashers, finely diced
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground mace
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 25g cold butter
• 75g lard or white vegetable fat
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1 jar Opies Pickled Walnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 4 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
• 350g plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp of milk
• 4 tbsp of water
• 1 egg, beaten
