Our springtime theme is “Life in the Shire,” where we all may take Glory in the Ordinary. I will present to you a complete meal. This pie is requested by our beloved Bombur, as you might remember in The Hobbit. A lovely salad will follow, and we’ll finish our Shire meal with some delicious biscuits (cookies).

I highly recommend making your own pie crust, but if making a pie ends up being too much trouble on a busy day, you could omit the pastry here (or, of course, substitute two ready-made pie crusts, though you probably won’t have much leftover to decorate it—that’s okay) and simply turn this into a stew by adding 1½ cups of low-sodium chicken broth. Cook it for about 10 more minutes on a low simmer, covered. As a stew, this will probably serve more like 3-4 people.

If your hobbit side wanted to go south of the border a bit, add half a cup of roasted and chopped green chile or your favorite salsa to the meat, either in the pie or in the stew. Tortillas or corn bread can be an easy substitute for the pie crust. Other protein choices work as well, such as beef or chicken. Just for variation, I’ve poured salsa and sprinkled cheese over a heated leftover slice—microwave again to melt the cheese. Not exactly hobbity, but very good…

I am also including my “Shire Seasoning,” which is used in many of my recipes (originally posted here). It is a dry seasoning mix which I developed specifically for this cookbook, though I use it all the time in lots of other cooking.

Make a batch, and you’ll be set to make many of the recipes coming up!

Bombur’s Pork-Pie

The unfortunate dwarf Bombur is described in The Hobbit as “immensely fat and heavy” and he suffers throughout the entire story. While he asks Bilbo for a pork-pie, he also requests a salad, so he must be trying to eat relatively well…

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry thyme or 2 tablespoons fresh, minced
• ¼ cup cold salted butter, cut into ¼” bits
• 3 ounces cold lard, cut into ¼” bits
• 7-9 tablespoons ice water
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into ½” dice
• ½ cup dry white wine, such as Chardonnay
• ½ teaspoon Shire Seasoning
• ½ teaspoon dry thyme
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup fresh or frozen corn
• ½ cup fresh or frozen lima beans (or peas)
• 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or Wondra
• 1 extra large egg
• 1 teaspoon water

In a large bowl, combine 2¼ cups flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon each of salt and dry (or fresh) thyme. Add the ¼ cup butter and lard and combine. Add ice water by tablespoons and combine well. Divide into a ⅓ and ⅔ portions and flatten into round disks. Put in covered containers or cover each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, coat a medium deep 3-quart skillet with cooking spray, then sauté the 1 tablespoon butter, onion, and the pork over medium/high heat just until there is no longer any pink color. Add the wine and cook over high heat until it is almost dry. Add the 7 seasonings, corn, lima beans, tomatoes, and flour. Bring to a boil, then cook uncovered over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Let stand; it should still be moist and saucy. Adjust seasonings, if desired.

Preheat oven to 375°. On a floured surface, roll out the large disk to a 13″ circle and place in a 9½” glass pie dish. Pour in the stew. Roll out the smaller disk to about 12″ and place on top. Trim edges, fold over and crimp decoratively, reserving scraps. Cut a small X in the center. With pie crust scraps, cut small decorations. Whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush top of pie with egg wash and apply decorations—egg wash these as well. Bake 30 minutes. Brush top of pie with egg wash and bake another 16-20 minutes, until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot or at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate leftovers; reheats well. Serves 6-8.

Bombur’s Pork-Pie

The unfortunate dwarf Bombur is described in The Hobbit as “immensely fat and heavy” and he suffers throughout the entire story. While he asks Bilbo for a pork-pie, he also requests a salad, so he must be trying to eat relatively well…

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry thyme or 2 tablespoons fresh, minced
• ¼ cup cold salted butter, cut into ¼” bits
• 3 ounces cold lard, cut into ¼” bits

[Vegetarian variation included!]

. . .

Astrid's three "Life in the Shire" recipes: