Alastair Hendy's Old-fashioned Rhubarb Pie

1. Have ready an oval pie dish or tin, 900ml-1 litre capacity, about 24cm long or similar.
2. Sieve the 350g flour with the salt into a bowl. Rub in the 130g butter and the lard until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then mix in about 4 tbsp cold water, and work to a smooth dough – adding a drop more water if it needs it. Divide into two balls, one slightly larger than the other, cover and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6. Lightly grease the pie dish using a knob of butter. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball of pastry to 5mm thick. Line the pie dish with the larger sheet, roughly trimming the edges (you will neaten these later).
4. Trim the rhubarb and cut into short lengths. Combine the sugar with the reserved 3 tbsp flour. Pile the rhubarb in the pastry case, sprinkling over the sugar mixture evenly and dotting with the remaining knob of butter as you go.
5. Brush the pastry rim with milk, cover with the remaining sheet of pastry, and press down lightly around the edge to seal. Using a small knife, neatly trim off the pastry, letting the blade follow the outside rim of the dish. Brush the pie with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Make three diagonal slashes across the top of the pie. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden (if the top browns too fast, move to the bottom shelf). Eat with cream, crème fraîche or custard.