Recipe: Curried goat pie

This was one of the Pack Horse's Covid-19 comeback dishes with a sustainable meat that we should all be eating more of

This was one of our Covid-19 comeback dishes, as well as part of our Pack Horse At Home boxes, which we provided during lockdown. I have James Whetlor to thank for this, for introducing me to a sustainable meat that we should all be eating more of, and for pointing me in the right direction when it comes to cooking it well! James left River Cottage to set up Cabrito Goat Meat, an ethical meat company which puts billy goats born into the dairy industry back into the food chain. His work has transformed the industry and our consumption of goat meat, and it’s a pleasure to play a small part in that.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 500g pie pastry (I recommend hot water pastry)
• 2 egg yolks, beaten

For the marinated goat

• 1.2kg diced kid goat
• 250ml plain yogurt
• 3 cardamom pods
• 2 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1tbs cumin seeds
• 1tbs coriander seeds
• 1tbs paprika
• 2tsp sea salt
• 1tsp curry powder
• 1tsp cayenne pepper

For the curry sauce

• 2 red onions, roughly chopped
• 2tsp garlic paste
• 1tsp ginger paste
• Stalks from 15g fresh coriander
• 50g unsalted butter
• 1tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2tbs tomato paste
• 400g tinned plum tomatoes
• Rapeseed oil

Method

For the marinated goat

Lightly toast the cardamom, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander in a frying pan until aromatic, then leave to cool.

Mix the diced goat with the yogurt, toasted whole spices, paprika, salt, curry powder and cayenne pepper. Leave to marinate for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.

For the curry sauce

Heat some oil in a pan and then add the onion, garlic paste, ginger paste and coriander stalks. Cook slowly until soft, then add the butter, curry powder and garam masala. Cook for a further 10 minutes before blitzing to a rough paste and turning the heat right down.

Preheat your oven to 240°C. Spread the marinated goat meat out in a couple of roasting tins and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Transfer the hot goat meat along with all the marinade to the pan of curry sauce, turning it through the blitzed paste and butter. Add the tomato paste and tinned tomatoes, then rinse the tin with a splash of water and add it to the pan. Cook on a very low heat for three hours, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking and stop anything burning on the base.

Lightly grease a 20cm pie tin with butter and roll out your pastry to 3mm thickness. Lay the pastry into the tin, pressing it gently into the sides all the way around. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 190°C. Fill your lined pie tin with the curried goat and top with a pie lid rolled out from the remaining pastry. Crimp the edges, then brush the beaten egg yolk over the lid with a pastry brush. Place the pie in the preheated oven to cook for 30 minutes, then it’s ready to serve.

The Pack Horse by Luke Payne (£35, Meze Publishing)