Ingredients
- 1 ham hock
- 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
- 60g butter
- Sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 100g grated red cheddar
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 roll of shortcrust pastry
- 1 egg beaten with a little milk
- Sprinkling of onion seeds (optional)
1 Simmer the ham hock for 2½ hours or so, until it starts to fall off the bone. Remove, allow to cool and pick off the meat, discarding the abundant fat.
2 Cook the onions very gently with the butter and thyme in a covered pan until very soft and melting, this will take at least 20 minutes.
3 When cooked, let the onions cool and add the mustard, cheddar, apple and pepper, then fold the ham hock through, making sure it's broken up evenly.
4 Chill this mixture for 30 minutes, and meanwhile set your oven to 185 degrees.
5 Unfurl the pastry, with the wide end towards you. Brush it with egg wash then spoon the mixture along the middle, leaving a 3cm edge of pastry at each side. Bring the bottom half of the pastry over the filling to meet the top and press down firmly to expel any air and join the pastry together. Crimp the pastry or press with a fork to get a seal. Brush with more egg, then scatter over the onion seeds.
6 Bake on greaseproof paper for 25 minutes, until golden and crispy. Serve warm or at room temperature with some chutney.
