Non-VegetarianEast Midlands English cuisine Main Course

Derbyshire Fidgety Pie

Name: Derbyshire Fidgety Pie
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: East Midlands English
Ingredients: 300 g smoked streaky bacon; 2 large bramley cooking apples; 2 medium brown onions; 2 tbsp Fresh sage; 1 tbsp Plain flour; 100 ml dry cider; 375 g shortcrust pastry; 1 medium Egg; 0.5 tsp Black pepper

A savoury Peak District farmhouse pie filled with rich cured bacon, tart Bramley apples, soft onions, and fragrant sage.

🇬🇧United Kingdom· East Midlands

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 70 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 540 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 9 gathered

Servings

300 g smoked streaky bacon — chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 large bramley cooking apples — peeled, cored, and sliced thickly
2 medium brown onions — thinly sliced
2 tbsp Fresh sage — finely chopped
1 tbsp Plain flour — for dusting and thickening filling
100 ml dry cider — or British chicken stock
375 g shortcrust pastry — ready-rolled sheet or homemade
1 medium Egg — beaten for egg wash
½ tsp Black pepper — freshly cracked

Equipment

•23cm pie dish
•frying pan
•rolling pin
•pastry brush
•chopping board

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 540 kcal
fat: 31 g
carbs: 46 g
fibre: 4 g
protein: 19 g
calories: 540 kcal

Instructions

1
Preheat your fan oven to 180°C (200°C conventional).
2
Heat a frying pan over medium hob heat and fry the bacon for 5 minutes until lightly browned.
3
Add the sliced onions to the bacon fat and cook for 6 minutes until soft and sweet.
4
Stir in the chopped sage and apple slices, cooking for another 2 minutes.
5
Sprinkle over the plain flour and stir well to coat the ingredients evenly.
6
Pour in the cider, simmer gently for 2 minutes, then season with black pepper.
7
Transfer the mixture into a 23cm pie dish and leave to cool slightly.
8
Lay the rolled shortcrust pastry over the dish and trim the excess pastry from the rim.
9
Crimp (fold and pinch the pastry edge into a rope pattern) with your fingers.
10
Cut a small steam slit in the centre and brush the top generously with beaten egg.
11
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.

Chef's tips

Let the filling cool slightly before adding the pastry lid to avoid a soggy crust. Bramley apples break down into a luscious sauce, but you can use a tart dessert apple if you prefer firmer chunks.

Ingredient substitutions

dry cider → unsalted chicken stock
smoked streaky bacon → diced gammon or thick unsmoked back bacon
shortcrust pastry → rough puff pastry

Storage

Store leftover pie covered in the fridge for up to three days.

Reheating

Reheat slices on a baking tray in a fan oven at 170°C for 15 minutes until piping hot.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Adding extra salt to the filling without tasting, as cured bacon is already naturally salty.
•Putting hot filling directly under pastry, which melts the pastry fat before baking.