Instructions: Prepare the hot water crust pastry.

Sieve the flour and salt together in a large bowl.

In a saucepan warm the milk water and lard together until the lard has melted. Place on the boiling plate and bring rapidly to the boil.

Pour immediately into the flour.

Using a wooden spoon stir the
paste well until a ball of dough is formed and the bowl is left clean.

Place on a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Take two thirds of the pastry and use this to mould and flatten over the base and sides of the well greased tin.

Mould the paste from the centre to the edge and up the sides using your knuckles.

Try not to have too much paste between the base and the sides.

Raise sufficiently just to overlap the top of the tin.

Slice the chicken and place half over the base of the pastry case.

Season.

Lay the apricots on top.

Finish with the remaining chicken.

Roll the remaining paste out to make a circle to fit the tin.

Damp the edges and cover with the lid. Trim and decorate the edges loin well. Make a hole in the centre and decorate with any pastry trimmings.

Brush with beaten egg Stand it on a baking tray.

Bake for 20 minutes in the roasting oven with the shelf on the third set of runners from the top.

For the two oven aga move the oven shelf to the floor of the roasting oven. Put in the pie slide the cold shelf two runners above the top of the tin.

For the four oven aga put the oven shelf on the second set of runners from the bottom transfer the pie.

Bake for 2 to2 1/2hours.

Brush occasionally with more beaten egg mixture to glaze the top.

If it is over browning lay a sheet of foil over the top.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tin.

For the jelly heat the stock in a small saucepan.

Sprinkle in the gelatine and stir until dissolved.

Allow to cool until just setting.

Using a funnel pour the belly into the pie through the central hole in the lid.

Leave in a cool place to set preferably overnight.

Raised pies are easy to make and look and taste good either for a cold buffet table a picnic or for a weekend lunch. Make them the day before serving. For this quantity I used a 200mmm loose bottomed sandwich tin about 40mm deep. A smaller deeper tin with a loose bottom helps to remove the pie.

Serves 6

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