Perfect for picnics or a fine festive feast, this cold pie combines smoked salmon and smoked cheese for a delicious depth of flavour. Rye and black pepper in the pastry nod to a classic Scandinavian loaf, and ricotta, tomatoes and Parmesan move it closer to Italian borders. Oh who said I was any good at geography?

Ingredients

For the pastry

200g Italian 00 flour

50g rye flour

125g cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 tbsp black peppercorns, roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar

a pinch of salt

2 egg yolks

2 tbsps iced water

For the filling

8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped

150g smoked cheese, cubed

150g smoked salmon (use smoked salmon pastrami if you can, but any will do)

250g ricotta cheese

60g freshly grated Parmesan

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 or 4 small pickled gherkins, drained and finely sliced

2 tbsps fresh parsley or dill, roughly chopped

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tbsp dried breadcrumbs

For the glaze

1 beaten egg and a little milk

Method

Make the pastry by chilling the flours and butter in the freezer for a few minutes, then rub in by hand or combine in a food processor with a blade attachment, until there are no large lumps of butter. Add the crushed peppercorns.
Mix the egg yolks with the water and salt and pour this into the flour mix until it just starts to come together, then shape into two balls, one larger than the other. Wrap in cling film and chill for about 30 minutes.
Make the filling by simply mixing all the ingredients, except the breadcrumbs, together in a large bowl.
Preheat the oven to 200C/190C fan and put a baking sheet in to heat up.
Roll out the larger ball of pastry and line a 20cm spring form tin, leaving excess pastry hanging over the rim of the tin. Sprinkle in the breadcrumbs to cover the base and then top with the filling.
Roll out the rest of the pastry and place on top, then trim, fold and crimp the overhanging pastry of the base to form a neat border. Decorate the top with two fishes (I used a drinking straw to make the eyes and get the scales effect) or whatever you like.
Glaze with the egg and milk mix and bake for 10 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 180C/170C fan and bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Leave to cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes, before releasing, or you can leave it to cool and then chill in the fridge until needed.

Smoky salmon pie