Supper Club: JP McMahon’s tasty Dingle pie

I’ve selected the Dingle Pie recipe here as I enjoy the process of making the pastry and the filling separately, and bringing them together to produce a wonderful complete meal.

Dingle pie

Preparation: 30 minutes, plus chilling time
Cooking: 1 hour 45 minutes
Serves 6

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 300 g/10 ½ oz plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
• 150 g/5 ¼ oz cold butter, cubed
• 3 eggs, beaten, one for brushing
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

For the filling

• 50 g/2 oz butter
• 1 onion, diced
• Leaves of a few sprigs of thyme, sage and rosemary, finely chopped
• 500 g/1 lb 2 oz mutton, diced
• 50 g/2 oz plain flour
• 450 ml/15 fl oz lamb stock
• Sea salt

Method

1. To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter and then add one egg. Use a tablespoon or two of ice-cold water to bring the dough together if required. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. When ready, roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and cut into 6 rounds with a 10-cm/ 4-inch-diameter pastry cutter and 6 rounds with a 14-cm/5½-inch circular pastry cutter.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling. Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the onion with the herbs for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent. 
4. Add the mutton to the pan and brown all over.
5. When nicely coloured, add the flour and cook for 2 minutes to make a paste.
6. Add the lamb stock, reduce the heat and simmer for 1–1½ hours until the mutton is extremely tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
8. Place a quarter of the mutton mixture into the middle of the 6 larger pastry rounds. Brush the sides with a little water and cover with the remaining four lids.
9.  Make a small circular hole in the centre of each pie. Brush each pie with the remaining egg and crimp the edges with a fork.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the filling is hot and the pastry tops are a golden brown.

This recipe was extracted from The Irish Cook Book by JP McMahon (Phaidon 2020). Signed copies, from €55,  are available to purchase from www.aniarrestaurant.ie. An Alphabet of Aniar: Notes for a New Irish Cuisine by JP McMahon (due to be published in March 2023) is available for pre-order now.

Photography by Anita Murphy, Ginger and Sage Photography.