Ingredients
Ingredients
1¼kg shortcrust pastry
a little plain flour, for dusting
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp sesame seed
1 tbsp sunflower oil
12 rashers thick-cut smoked back bacon, diced
4 onion, diced
¼ tsp ground mace (see ‘Try’, below)
2 x 290g jars whole roasted peppers in brine (we used Gaea)
large bunch parsley, finely chopped
10 large egg – fresh as you can get
Tip
Mace
Food editor Sarah Cook says mace is one of her favourite spices: ‘I just love the savoury hit it gives food. If you’re not sure what it tastes like, think of a good pork pie – the seasoning is usually a dose of mace along with salt and pepper.’
Direction
To make the filling, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the bacon, turn the heat to low and gently cook to melt out some of the fat, then turn up the heat to brown a little. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate and set aside. Add the onions and mace to the pan, and gently cook until softened. Set aside to cool.
Line the base of a 20 x 30cm tin with baking parchment, then add 3 long, thick strips to run across the tin, with overhang to help you lift out the pie. Roll out 750g of the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it’s big enough to line the base and sides of the tin.
Put a baking sheet in the oven and heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Spread the onions onto the base of the pie. Open out each pepper like a book, scrape out any seeds, then layer over the onions to cover. Scatter over the bacon, followed by the parsley. Evenly crack over the eggs, and season all over.
Roll out the remaining pastry to cover, pinch and trim the edges to seal, and brush with beaten egg. Scatter with sesame seeds. Sit on top of the baking sheet and bake for 30-40 mins until golden and crisp. Cool at room temperature, then store in the fridge for up to a day. Bring just back to room temp before serving in squares.
