Potato-Pulled Pork Pie (And alliteration!)

The other day I needed a high-quality photo of something, so I grabbed my camera, took the picture, then uploaded the memory card to my computer.  Lo and Behold!  There were photos of a particularly delicious dinner I came up with a while ago.  In fact, this dinner was so good, I wrote it down immediately afterward so that I have a recipe to refer to if I wanted to make it again, share it with a friend, or post it on the internet.  Hooray forethought!  And hooray for finally uploading photos.

This recipe, Potato-Pulled Pork Pie, is a leftovers recipe.  There's no reason you can't make up a fresh batch of pulled pork for it, but there's no need to.  No special recipe was used.  Same with the potatoes. I will say, though, you want nice creamy potatoes.  This, to me, is the secret to making mashed potatoes.  Add milk, cream, broth, or whatever until you have a nice, creamy texture.  Regardless of whether you used mealy or waxy potatoes, CREAMY is the end goal.  While you can use potatoes however you like, the creaminess is going to translate into smooth, rich base with just a hint of crispiness.  Mmmmm.  But getting back to the point!  As this is a leftovers recipe, the measurements are pretty approximatable.  Don't worry about having exactly the right amount of pork or potato-- just make sure you're in the ballpark.  And everything else just needs to be in balance-- more pork?  Consider more veggies and more egg.

Potato- Pulled Pork Pie

1 1/2 C mashed potatoes

3/4 C pulled pork

2 small bell peppers

1 slice onion (like for rings)

3 eggs

1 Tbsp milk

salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and cumin to taste

cheese (as an optional finish)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Begin by greasing a pie pan, then spreading the potatoes over the base.  Make them a little higher on the side, but don't worry about going all the way up the side of the pan.  (More like a pizza, less like a pie.)  Bake until dried out but not browned, about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop pork, peppers, and onion.  Place in a mixing bowl and add eggs, milk, and season to taste.  It should not look like an omelet, but everything should be coated with egg (see photo).  I recommend starting with 2 eggs, then deciding if you need a third or not.  

Pour meat/egg mixture over the potato crust and bake until set, about 20-30 minutes.  If desired, top with cheese and replace in oven until melted.  (If you use a hard cheese, you may need to add it half-way through cooking time.)  

The only thing about this recipe that is less than ideal, to me, is the time.  I think you could probably bake it in a hotter oven (to make it faster) and be fine, but I haven't tried that myself, and didn't want to give you a recipe that would turn out horribly burnt on the top and raw on the bottom.

Otherwise, this is a FABULOUS way to eat leftovers.  It takes minimal effort, but tastes wonderful.  My husband and I got about four servings out of it, using our self-control, because we both wanted to eat the whole thing.  Feel free to use different seasonings, too.  If you've got seasoned pulled pork, use similar flavors to enhance everything.