Thatch Pie Recipe

This is a recipe I devised based on a shepherds or cottage pie theory. I call it Thatch Pie because it is made with pork and I thought about the Three Little Piggies and their straw house. It was a way to use up the left over porchetta joint from NYE but you could use any left over meat, or simply just mince meat for this and it would taste equally good.

Hubby is on a no carb diet, so I can't use potatoes at the moment, instead I made a vegetable mash out of pumpkin and carrot (both very readily available in all shops and markets in Bangkok).

Ingredients

Left over porchetta - chopped finely - about a cereal bowl - you could use any left over cooked meat

Pork mince - about 250g - I picked up a discount tray for 50 baht from Tops at MBK

Onion - 1 white - chopped roughly

Celery - 1 stick - chopped finely

Carrots - 3 large - peeled and chopped into about 1 inch pieces

Pumpkin - a medium chunk, probably about 1/5 of a whole pumpkin - peeled and chopped into about 1 inch pieces

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Bisto granules - 1 tbsp  

Water - a splash as needed 

Wine (optional) - 1 glass of old wine 

Worchester sauce (optional) - 1 tbsp

Brown sauce (HP) (optional) - 1 tbsp

Ketchup (optional) - 1 tbsp

Cranberry sauce (optional) - 1 tbsp

Cheddar cheese - grated - a good couple of handfuls

Parmesan cheese (optional) - grated

Sea Salt and Black Pepper - to taste 

Directions

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan
2. Brown the onion and celery
3. Add, and sear, the mince
4. Add the left over meat
5. Add a glass of wine and simmer off the alcohol (optional)
6. Stir all/all of the (optional) sauces that you may have in your fridge or store cupboard
7. Sprinkle over the Bisto granules
8. Drizzle with water and stir until you get the consistency of sauce you desire
9. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
10. Put the meat mixture into a oven proof dish
11. Saute the carrots and pumpkin in 1 tbsp of olive oil, in a large saucepan
12. When they are just starting to turn brown cover with water and boil until soft
13. Drain the carrots and pumpkin well and allow to sit and dry in the hot pan for short while
14. Mash the carrots and pumpkin to the consistency you like
15. Spread the mash over the meat mixture
16. Distribute the grated cheddar cheese evenly over the pie, and add a sprinkle of parmesan, sea salt and cracked black pepper if you like
17. Place under a hot grill until the cheese has bubbled and browned as you like

Serves 4 (or 3 if you eat like us)