The Best Savory Shortcrust Pastry~ Jamie Oliver Friday

This was an easy recipe for me and a chance to make pie dough in my food processor. I make a lot of pastry, but have never done it with my food processor and Jamie's recipe called for this so I was delighted to give it a go. The recipe in the book is simply the pastry recipe so I decided to make a chicken pot pie, a dish my husband always appreciates coming home to, especially on cool rainy days. You will need:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 7 ounces lard, cut into cubes
• 2 ounces freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• sea salt
• a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• a splash of milk
• flour for dusting

"This savory pastry is good for making tarts, quiches and the like.The two main principles behind making it are the same as for a sweet pastry; stick to a ratio of half fat to flour, and bring the pastry together as quickly as possible without pulsing the dough too much. Like sweet pastry, you can flavor this savory one in different ways. Try things like paprika, black pepper, nutmeg or mace instead of the rosemary and thyme. In my opinion an exceptional savory pastry is made with suet or lard, rather than butter. This gives the pastry a great flavor, a slightly richer texture and a delicious caramelized crust when it comes out of the oven. Feel free to use butter instead, if you're at all concerned about the fat intake of lard, but if you're eating this only once in awhile, why not spoil yourself and do it properly? There's nothing better! P.S. You can make this pastry the old fashioned way ( by hand) if you're feeling nostalgic. Put the flour, lard, cheese and a generous pinch of sea salt into a food processor and pulse for 20 to 30 seconds or until the mixture is crumbly and fine. Add the rosemary and thyme leaves or your chosen flavoring. Pour in the eggs, add the milk. Pulse for a few more seconds until the mixture comes together. Scoop your dough out of the food processor onto a clean floured work surface and pat it a few times to make it more compact-don't be tempted to knead it. When you have a flat round, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour." Jamie Oliver I made up a chicken pot pie filling using leftover chicken and broth and added slightly cooked vegetables and thickening to the mixture, and after rolling out the pastry and lining a casserole dish with 2/3 of the pastry, filled it with the chicken mixture, then topped it with the last 1/3 of the pastry. I pricked holes in the topper and baked the pot pie for a little over an hour at 375 degrees. My husband said this was very good! As I do not like cooked potatoes or peas ( I know, I am way too picky) I did not eat any of this, but I did sample the pastry and it is delicious! A recipe I will most definitely use again and again~thanks Jamie!