Vegetarian Pork-Style Pie

Make the pastry: combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the chilled butter cubes. Using your fingertips, briefly flatten each cube into the flour — leave visible chunks of butter throughout rather than rubbing to a crumb. Drizzle in the ice-cold water and bring together into a shaggy dough without overworking. Shape into a flat rectangle, wrap tightly, and place in the fridge.

Refrigerate the pastry dough for at least 1 hour.

While the pastry chills, prepare the jackfruit filling: shred the drained jackfruit with two forks, pulling apart the fibrous pieces and discarding any hard seed pods or core pieces. Pat dry thoroughly with kitchen paper.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shredded jackfruit in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 4–5 minutes until deep golden and caramelised on the underside.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, carrot, and celery, and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fully softened and beginning to turn golden at the edges.

Add the garlic, fennel seeds, smoked paprika, sage, white pepper, and mace. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant and coating everything evenly.

Stir in the tomato paste, soy sauce, and Worcester sauce, then pour in the cider. Cook for 3–4 minutes, scraping any caramelised bits from the base, until the cider has reduced by half.

Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the jackfruit is very tender and the liquid has reduced significantly.

Stir in the cornflour slurry and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon heavily.

Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley, taste and adjust seasoning, then spread the filling evenly into a deep 20cm pie dish.

Allow the filling to cool completely, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes before adding the pastry — a hot filling will melt the pastry fat before baking.

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional / Gas 7).

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled pastry to roughly 5mm thickness, large enough to overhang the pie dish by 2cm. Drape over the filled dish, press the edges firmly to seal against the rim, then trim the excess. Crimp with a fork or your fingers, cut two steam vents in the centre, and brush all over with the beaten egg.

Bake for 30–35 minutes until the pastry is a deep, evenly burnished golden brown and you can hear the filling bubbling through the vents.

Rest the pie for 10 minutes before cutting to allow the filling to settle and slice cleanly.