One of my first jobs as a teenager was on a supermarket rotisserie counter, and certain customers would come in once a week for a bacon knuckle. At £1.79 (10 years ago), they were half the price of the spit-roasted chickens, and one older gentleman regularly enthused that he would eat it all week. I thought of him recently, when researching new recipes for eating on a budget. I found a bacon knuckle in a butcher’s, took it home and made it into this.
(Makes 1 pie and 1 casserole)
1 bacon knuckle, about 600g
2 carrots, diced (peel reserved)
2 onions, diced (skins reserved)
Fistful of parsley, leaves picked and stalks reserved
Few black peppercorns
150g dried split peas
1 tbsp butter or oil
1 tbsp flour
for the pastry:
125g butter, diced
125g lard, diced
500g plain flour
Soak the bacon knuckle overnight, drain, and soak again, leaving for several hours. Put it in a pan, skin-side down.
Add the carrot peel, onion skins, parsley stalks and peppercorns. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer for 90 minutes, removing any scum from the surface.
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Bring a pan of unsalted water to the boil and add the split peas. Simmer for 45 minutes until very soft, adding the diced carrot and onion after 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, start the pastry. In a large mixing bowl, rub the butter and lard into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add a splash of cold water and mix to form a pliable but not sticky dough. Cover and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
When your bacon joint is tender, remove from the heat and flake off the meat. Strain the stock and reserve (you need about 600ml).
Cook the butter and flour on low heat to make a roux, thin it to a smooth paste with a little of the stock, then gradually add the rest. Add the split peas, vegetables, meat and parsley leaves, and remove from the heat.
Roll out your pastry and use a plate to cut the lid for your pie. Roll out again and lay in the bottom of your pie dish, trimming to fit. Spoon half the filling into the pie, and half into a freezer bag for a future pie or casserole.
Carefully lay the lid on top, using a fork to seal the edges. Cook in the middle of the oven at 180C/350F/gas mark four for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Delicious hot or cold.
