Pork and Peas Pie

METHOD:

For Gjelina’s Pie Crust:
In a bowl, combine water, vinegar, and sugar; whisking to dissolve sugar. Chill. In a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, and butter, until mixture forms medium pea-like clumps. Dump flour mixture a work surface and gather into a pile. Pour in half the chilled sugar syrup, and start mixing it all together gently (this will be messy). Squeeze the dough together and lightly rub the butter peas into the flour. With the palm of your hand, press the mixture against the table gently and smear/rub the dough together. Sprinkle on more of the syrup and keep squeezing and rubbing, working quickly so the butter does not melt. When dough comes together into a shaggy ball, wrap plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Portion chilled dough into 14-ounce balls and roll them out to ¼-inch thickness. Lay 1 piece dough onto a pie plate and chill 30 minutes more.

For the Pork and Peas Pie Filling:
In a large bowl, shred roasted pork shoulder and combine with carrots, peas, apple, pork stock, flour, and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

To Assemble and Serve:
Heat oven to 375ºF. Fill Gjelina’s Pie Crust with Pork and Peas Pie Filling. Top filling with 1 pork belly. Paint the rim of the crust with heavy cream and top with another portion Gjelina’s Pie Crust, crimping the edges and pressing it onto the edge of the plate to seal. Paint the top crust with heavy cream, sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary, and cut a few slits to vent. Place pie in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and bake pie for 15. Turn the oven down to 325ºF, and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Remove from oven and cool.