Pecan pie

Method

1. For the pastry: put the flour, vegetable shortening and a good pinch of salt in a bowl. Rub the ingredients together with your finger tips until you have a mixture which looks like breadcrumbs.

2. Add a little orange juice to help it come together into a ball. Add as much as it takes, but be careful not to use too much (you'll then have to add more flour which will mean you've changed the ratio of flour to fat in the pastry). Don't handle the pastry more than necessary.

3. You can cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge, but this pastry is fairly well-behaved so you can roll it straight out to a thin disc. Use to line a 22cm ceramic pie dish.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

5. For the filling: put the syrup, butter, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly and scraping back whatever sticks to the sides. Add the pecans and leave to cool to room temperature.

6. Mix the cooled syrup with the eggs. Pour into the pastry case and put in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until the filling is only just set in the middle (it will continue to cook as it cools down). Leave to cool completely before serving.