A RECIPE for a very special pie with a distinctly Yorkshire flavour has been revealed in the hope it will become the county’s answer to the Cornish pasty.

The traditional Yorkshire pie, using Yorkshire-only ingredients, was unveiled yesterday to coincide with National Pie Week.

Chefs at the Black Swan Inn, in Peasholme Green, York, have taken a year to hone the closely-guarded recipe after carrying out rigorous taste tests of various flavour combinations on the unsuspecting pub customers.

The pie is a combination of lamb, potato, mushy peas and Henderson’s Relish, a Yorkshire version of Worcestershire Sauce, and served with mint gravy.

Black Swan Inn landlord Andrew Cross said: “We needed to know the Yorkshire pie would be what Yorkshire people would enjoy and what visitors to the county would expect.

“Testing was carried out to make sure the pie was distinctive and desirable, but with genuine Yorkshire ingredients that people now expect when eating out.”

He has promised to share his recipe with other pubs and restaurants across Yorkshire so as many people as possible can sample it.

Keith Mulhearn, from Complete Yorkshire, said he came up with the idea for a Yorkshire pie but needed a chef to help him.

He said: “I asked the chef at the Black Swan to help me develop the pie, and after months of testing different flavours we think we found the right one.”

John Gallery, chairman of Tourism Society Yorkshire, said: “The Black Swan is York’s oldest pub and it is fitting that the Yorkshire pie has been developed in such a traditional environment.

“All the ingredients are local and we think this celebrates Yorkshire.”