Kate Young riffs on the last hot meal the hobbits eat before embarking on a huge journey which takes her back to her dads affectionate storytelling
One to two other hobbits belonging to the farm-household came in. In a short while fourteen sat down to eat. There was beer in plenty, and a mighty dish of mushrooms and bacon, besides much other solid farmhouse fare. The dogs lay by the fire and gnawed rinds and cracked bones.
The Fellowship of the Ring, JRR Tolkien
—
My dad is a great teller of stories. My sister and I would demand one each time we went for a long walk wed give him a group of characters (a mouse, an elephant and a girl call Alice) and hed create an incredible world for them to inhabit. Wed be rock hopping through a creek or winding our way up a mountain while he told us stories of Alice sneaking into a circus late at night, or journeying to India with a mouse in tow. When he and mum divorced, he recorded himself (on an old school tape recorder, I think) reading our favourite stories The Minpins, The Mirrorstone, Wombats Dont Have Christmas out loud, so we could listen to them wherever we were. I still have a copy on CD.
I also have vivid memories of him reading to us at night, relaxed into a chair next to our bunk beds, sharing his old favourites: Jim Hawkinss adventures on the Atlantic, Bilbos in Middle Earth. I still associate all of Tolkiens writing with these memories, though I didnt read The Lord of the Rings until many years later.
Without more than a mighty dish of mushrooms and bacon to go on, Ive had to be creative here. This pie is just the kind of thing Id want as my last hot meal before heading off on an adventure sustaining, warm and comforting. Its humble, homely food, easy to make, and elevated by the quality of your ingredients. On Mr and Mrs Maggots farm it would be glorious, with mushrooms picked earlier that day, leeks from the garden and bacon from a local pig. My Cotswolds ingredients (the area was apparently part of Tolkiens inspiration for Hobbiton) proved worthy substitutes.
The journey into Mordor takes Frodo and Sam six months, during which time they eat little but Lembas, a sweet Elven bread wrapped in leaves. This farmhouse feast, enjoyed by the hobbits before they begin on their journey, speaks to what theyre leaving behind, and what they dream of returning to.
Mushroom, Bacon and Leek Pie: the recipe
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
Filling
125g pancetta/lardons/streaky bacon (chopped into small bits)
3tbsp butter
4 medium leeks, sliced into thin discs
450g button mushrooms, sliced into quarters
8 springs thyme
Salt and pepper
2tbsp flour
3tbsp sherry
500ml vegetable stock
Handful dried wild mushrooms
Handful chopped parsley
2tbsp double cream
Pastry
200g flour
100g butter
Pinch salt
1 egg yolk
2tbsp iced water
Glaze
1 egg
Equipment
Large frying pan
Wooden spoon
Mixing bowl
Measuring jug
Food processor (optional)
Rolling pin
Pie dish
Pastry brush
1 Place the frying pan over a medium heat and, once hot, add the bacon/lardons and fry until golden. Remove them from the pan and drop them into mixing bowl.
2 Leave the bacon fat in the pan and add 1tbsp of the butter. Cook the leeks until soft and translucent, then remove them to the bowl too.
3 Add another tablespoon of the butter, and half the mushrooms. Dont crowd the mushrooms, or they will steam rather than brown if youre doing this in a narrower, deep pan, you may want to do it in three batches. Once browned, transfer to the mixing bowl, and cook the second batch of mushrooms. Add a generous amount of pepper and a pinch of salt to the mixing bowl. Strip the sprigs of thyme and put the leaves into the mixing bowl too.
4 Prepare the vegetable stock (warm it if using homemade, or prepare your favourite stock pot/cube), and add the dried mushrooms. Set aside.
5 Tip the mushrooms, bacon and leeks back into the pan. Sprinkle the flour in and cook, stirring constantly, for two minutes. Add the sherry and cook for another minute. Pour the vegetable stock in, lower the heat and simmer until thick, which should take around fifteen minutes.
6 Tip the filling back into the mixing bowl. Stir in the chopped parsley and the cream, then set aside to cool completely.
7 To make the pastry, put the flour and cold, chopped butter into the food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Alternatively, if you dont have a food processor, you can rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips. Add the egg yolk, and mix or blitz. Trickle some of the water in, stopping as soon as the pastry comes together. Wrap the pastry in cling film and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
8 Preheat your oven to 200C and place a baking tray into the centre of it to heat. Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll a bit more than half of it out into a circle that will fit into the pie dish, ensuring there is some overhang. Patch any tears or holes, and pour the cold pie filling into the dish. Roll the remainder of the pastry out into a disc to put on top. Wet the edges of both pastry discs with water to ensure they stick together. Place the second disc on top of the pie and pinch the edges together to seal.
9 Paint the top with a beaten egg, adding decoration if you life. Make a couple of cuts in the top for steam to escape through. Place the pie into the oven, onto the heated baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Read more: www.theguardian.com
