*Tuna Pie…serves six:

*30 – 35 minutes cooking time in 230° C oven (or use your own oven’s recommended temperature for pastry).

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The Pastry: (This is a very old family pastry recipe)

• 1 cup flour

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 130 grams butter

• 1 teaspoon malt vinegar

• ¼ cup milk

Sift flour and salt

Grate or chop cold butter into flour (better if chopped in with two knives)

Make a well in the centre of flour mixture and add milk and vinegar and mix to make a stiff dough.

Tip flour and butter mixture onto the pastry mat and lightly knead until flour and butter are clumped together.

*Knead lightly until butter and flour are well mixed*                           

Roll out pastry dough, preferably using cold marble rolling pin,  fold edges into the centre, roll out again and repeat the folding.  Wrap the pastry in butter paper or cling wrap and put in the fridge for at least an hour. Meantime make up the tuna/vegetable and egg filling below.

*First roll out of the pastry*

Remove pastry from the fridge when you are ready to make the pie, repeat the first roll out and folding of the pastry at least a couple more times until the pastry is very smooth and no longer sticks to rolling pin. The more you repeat the folding and rolling of the pastry, the finer and lighter it will be.

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Ingredients needed for the Tuna Pie

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250g – 300g carrots peeled and finely chopped

One small potato peeled and finely chopped

250g broccoli chopped

2 cloves of garlic

2 shallots

425 can Tuna (preferably in olive oil)

3 free-range eggs beaten lightly with a fork

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Steam vegetables then mash and leave to cool.   Peel and chop shallots,  peel and finely chop garlic, sauté together in butter or oil with a couple of pinches of sea salt, until soft , then add to pre-cooked vegetables.

Open can of tuna and drain excess liquid.  Add the tuna, breaking up into vegetable mix with a fork but leave the tuna in small chunks; just make sure the tuna is well distributed through the vegetables. Add lightly beaten eggs (leave about a dessertspoon of egg in bowl to brush over the top of pastry later) mixing the beaten eggs into tuna and vegetables lightly with the fork. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

Tuna Pie ready for the oven

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Roll out the pastry for the pie base, lightly moisten around edge of pastry to ensure the top pastry cover sticks, gently cover the 26cm  piedish base and up the sides of the fluted edge, then add the cooled ingredients, leveling out over whole pastry base. Roll out remaining pastry for the top of the pie and press the two pieces of pastry together firmly into the fluted edge of dish. I also press it with a fork.  Use the fork to lightly prick all over the top of the pie and then brush the top lightly with leftover beaten egg. Place the pie in the middle of the oven. Cook for 30 minutes at 230° C (or your oven’s recommended temperature for flaky pastry), turn the oven off and leave pie in the oven for a further 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

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*Tuna Pie*  ready for a birthday lunch.