Pie master Tom Bridge celebrates British Pie Week

To mark British Pie Week which ends today, Bolton chef and author Tom Bridge has shared one his favourite recipes and written a guest blog about his passion for cooking and his love of the Great British pie…

I started cooking at a very young age, holding on to my mother’s apron.

I was born in the pub trade, for 20 years my mother made pies for the customers at the Gypsy’s Tent pub in Bolton town centre.

Since then I have worked all over the world, cooking for numerous celebs including Charlton Heston, Jane Seymour, David Niven and Frank Sinatra to name a few.

To date I have had 23 cookery books published – the best seller at the moment being Pie Society.

Here is one of my favourite recipes – a Lancashire Tart. It is so tasty and you can make it your own by using your local bacon and cheese.

The tart is made with layers of traditional British pork or Cumberland sausage meat, black pudding, smoked bacon and scallop potatoes topped with Lancashire cheese accompanied by a herb salad and a spicy tomato dressing.

Ingredients

350g shortcrust pastry

200g Lancashire black pudding, skin removed

200g pork or Cumberland sausage meat

150g slices of naturally cured smoked bacon, trimmed

2 large potatoes peeled and thinly sliced to 3mm

250ml full fat milk

150ml double cream

5 free range eggs

500g grated Lancashire cheese

Chopped parsley

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 or 180 degrees

Line a tart case with shortcrust pastry and blind bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

Seal the cooked pastry with egg wash and bake for a further minute.

Make the black pudding into a round paté and cover with cling film and flatten out to fit the tart case, repeat this process with the sausage meat.

Trim any fat from the bacon then grill until crisp. Chop into fine pieces and leave to cool.

Slice the potatoes to approximately 3mm in depth and steam until just el dente (if steamer is not available simply boil).

Blend together the milk, cream and egg, and seasoning slightly.

To assemble the tart as seen in the photograph, start by placing black pudding and a layer of potato in the bottom of the tart then a ladle of cream mix, a sprinkle of Lancashire cheese and a pinch of parsley.

This process is repeated with the sausage next, then bacon, then sliced potato and finally by sprinkling chopped parsley and cheese on top.

This is then baked for 40 minutes at 140 degrees until the liquid is set. When cooling place a weight on top of the tart to compress the layers.

Portion as you like but this will provide 14 portions as a starter size.

For more recipes and pie-related news from Tom Bridge, visit his websites http://www.piesocietybook.co.uk/pie/ or http://www.cookerydetective.com/