Duck Shooter's Bacon & Egg Pie

Every May, kiwi hunter's wives are assigned the task of creating the ultimate Bacon & Egg pie, for a 'Duck Shooter's Pie-off'. There is much prestige bestowed upon the hunter who's wife makes the best pie. It should be crisp on top, not have a soggy bottom (heaven forbid!), be juicy but not messy to devour, and nourishing, as it may be the only thing he gets to eat till they get to the pub for dinner later that evening. Also, it must have a happy balance of two vital ingredients - bacon and eggs!

Here's my fool proof recipe (totally adaptable & dependent on the size of your dish…)

Ingredients:

500 gms streaky bacon, cut into 3cm pieces (preferably free farmed)

6-8 eggs (depending on size, but always free range!)

2-3 sheets of pre-rolled savoury pastry, (not puff, tends to go soggy. Make your own if you're really going for brownie points)

1 cup frozen Peas

Onion (or shallots or spring onion)

Grated Cheese

Mushrooms

Salt & Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 deg Celsius.

Line a greased baking dish with pastry.

Sprinkle grated cheese on the bottom of the pie (this helps to prevent the soggy bottom!)

Meanwhile, fry the bacon, onion & mushrooms till the onions are softened. Turn the heat off and stir through the peas, not trying to cook them, just combining.

Half fill the pastry lined dish with the bacon/onion/mushroom/pea mix.

Crack in 3-4 eggs. My hunter prefers the yolks left unbroken, but break them if you'd rather.

Pour in the rest of the filling mix, and crack in the remaining eggs, salt and pepper the top (easy on the salt, the bacon should take care of that for you).

Top with more grated cheese, and/or a pastry lid. For extra brownie points do a lattice, but avoid getting too fancy, love hearts and messages will only embarrass him in front of his fellow hunters.
Place on a rack in the middle of the oven, and cook till golden brown!

Bacon & Egg pie is made to be shared among men and as much as I'd love to tell you how many it will serve, it's entirely dependant on the size of your dish and the hunger of your man/men!