Chorizo and Egg Pie Heat a medium frying pan and dry smoke the spices for 2 minutes, put in a bowl and leave to one side. In the same pan heat the olive oil and on a medium heat fry the onion and cook for 2 minutes before adding the fennel and garlic, cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the red pepper and spices and gently fry for 10 minutes or until they start to take a dark colour. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
Chop the chorizo into roughly 1 inch cubes and add to the pork mince. Stir in the vegetables, mix thoroughly, season and refrigerate.
Take an egg and chop off each end to maximise the amount of white and yolk used in the pie. Repeat with all remaining eggs. Refrigerate until needed.
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Bring the water and lard or butter to the boil in a saucepan then stir it into the flour with a wooden spoon to form a smooth dough. Leave the pastry to cool for around 5 minutes if too hot to handle.
Using a 9 inch non stick loaf tin - 12 inches by 7 inches by 3 inches.
Take two thirds of the pastry leaving the remaining third for a lid and roll out onto a floured surface about 0.2 inches thick and double the size of the bread tin. You will need quite a heavy dusting of flour in order to help the pastry from sticking. Don't be afraid to add a lot of flour as it will make the pastry more manageable. Roll the pastry over the tin and gently shape, ease the pastry into the tin making sure the pastry does not break or tear, leaving the pastry overlapping the sides.
With the chorizo and mince mixture fill the pie one third deep and place the eggs lengthways down the middle of the loaf tin, making sure the eggs run from end to end.
Continue to gently add filling around the eggs and on top making sure the eggs do not break and the mix is tightly packed in, press the mixture down gently. Brush the pastry edge with egg yolk. This will act as a glue for the lid.
Take the remaining pastry and roll it into a rectangle slightly bigger than the tin. Roll onto the tin and trim the excess pastry crimp the edges with forefingers and thumbs. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, this will allow the pastry to harden slightly, which will make glazing it with the egg much easier.
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Place the filled loaf tin on a baking tray and brush the lid with egg yolk. Egg yolk will give a much more golden finish to the pie. With a knife, make a small hole in the lid to allow air to escape whilst cooking.
Place in the oven for 1 hour or until a rich golden brown. You may need to leave it in for a further 15 minutes or so. When cooked, leave it to cool slightly before carefully removing from tin. Once the pie has cooled slightly you can refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
To create the jelly heat the chicken stock in a saucepan and add the gelatine leaves, continue to heat until the gelatine leaves are completely dissolved. Pour the jelly through the hole in the top of the pie until the pie is full. Place the pie in the fridge and leave until the jelly is set.
Serve in slices with rocket, red pepper and garlic mayonnaise.
