Pork, Chestnut and Apple Pie from the Ardennes

FOR THE PASTRY:
125 g – 4,4 oz. plain flour
120 g – 4,2 oz. butter
1 egg
Salt
Water
FOR THE FILLING:
3 cooking apples
1 can chestnuts “au naturel”
200 g – 7 oz. lean pork meat, minced
2 eggs
25 g – 0,9 oz. butter
1 dl – 3.3 fl. oz. port or madeira
Salt, pepper

First make the pastry: sieve the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Put in the butter cut in small pieces, the egg and a good pinch of salt. Work quickly together with the fingertips, then add just enough water to make the dough moist. Shape the dough into a ball, put it on a floured board and flatten it with the heel of your hand. Then shape it into a ball once more and repeat the process. Finally, shape it again, wrap it in greaseproof paper and put it in a cool place for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to a moderately hot temperature. Peel and core the apples and slice them thinly; drain the canned chestnuts and chop them up roughly. In a bowl, mix thoroughly but delicately the minced pork, the apples, the chestnuts, the port, and one egg. Season with salt and plenty of fresh-ground black pepper.

Break the second egg into a small bowl and beat it lightly with a fork. Butter the pie dish. Roll out two-thirds of the dough into a round shape about 5 mm thick and slightly larger in diameter than the pie dish, and line the dish with it, pricking the bottom with a fork. Spread the filling into this. Roll out the remaining dough in a round shape with the same diameter as the pie dish and cover the pie with it, pinching the pastry edges together. With a pastry brush dipped in the beaten egg, paint the whole surface of the pie and make a couple of long incisions in it to let the air in. Cook the tourte in a moderately hot oven for 45 minutes and serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: A Taste of the Belgian Provinces, Enid Gordon and Midge Shirley (published by The Tuesday Group, rue Frans Merjay, 1060 Brussels).