Tag: pie

[recipe] Maman Blanc’s apple custard tart

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image

Ingredients

For the pastry

250g plain flour
pinch sea salt
125g unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
25g caster sugar
1 tsp cold water
1 medium free-range egg

For the filling

15g unsalted butter
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
65g caster sugar
1/2 tbsp calvados
3-4 Cox or Braeburn apples, peeled, cores removed, each cut into 10 segments
100ml double cream
1 medium free-range egg
1-2 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting

Preparation method

For the pastry, pulse together the flour, sugar, butter and salt in a food processor until you reach a sandy texture. Add the egg, water and pulse again. If you over mix the dough at this stage it will lose its flakiness.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with the palms of your hands for 30 seconds, or until the dough is smooth and well combined.

With the palm of your hand flatten the dough slightly to 1cm/½in thickness, then sandwich it between two large sheets of cling film. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220C/440F/Gas 7. Place a baking tray into the oven to preheat.

Roll the chilled dough, still sandwiched in cling film, to a 2mm thickness. Place a 22cm diameter, 2cm deep tart ring on a greaseproof lined wooden peel or baking tray. Remove the top layer of clingfilm and carefully pick up the dough, place it into the tart ring with the second layer of clingfilm facing up. Lift and tuck the dough into the edges of the ring and discard the clingfilm. By tucking in the base you will minimise the shrinking of the dough during cooking. Trim off any excess with a rolling pin.

Using your index finger and thumb, pinch and press the dough until it’s 2mm above the tart ring all around the edge. With a fork, prick the bottom of the tart. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the filling, heat the butter, lemon juice and 15g of the sugar in a small saucepan until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the Calvados. Set aside.

When the tart case has chilled, arrange the apple segments in concentric circles, overlapping the apple slices as you go. Brush the apples all over with the Calvados mixture. Slide the tart ring onto the pre-heated baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6, then continue to cook for a further 20 minutes, until the pastry is pale golden-brown and the apples have caramelised.

Whisk together the double cream, egg and the remaining 500 caster sugar until well combined.

When the pastry is pale golden-brown and the apples have caramelised, sprinkle the tart with a tablespoon of sugar and pour the custard mixture into the tart, bake for a further 10 minutes, until the filling mixture has just set.

To serve, remove the tart from the oven and set aside for 1 hour to cool slightly, then carefully remove the tart ring. Dust all over with icing sugar. Serve immediately.

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[recipe] Apple pie

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applepie

Ingredients

FOR THE FILLING

1kg Bramley apples
140g golden caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp flour

FOR THE PASTRY

225g butter, room temperature
50g golden caster sugar , plus extra
2 eggs
350g plain flour

Directions

  1. Put a layer of paper towels on a large baking sheet. Quarter, core, peel and slice the apples about 5mm thick and lay evenly on the baking sheet. Put paper towels on top and set aside while you make and chill the pastry.
  2. For the pastry, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until just mixed. Break in a whole egg and a yolk (keep the white for glazing later). Beat together for just under 1 min – it will look a bit like scrambled egg. Now work in the flour with a wooden spoon, a third at a time, until it’s beginning to clump up, then finish gathering it together with your hands. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill for 45 mins.
  3. Mix the 140g/5oz sugar, the cinnamon and flour for the filling in a bowl that is large enough to take the apples later.
  4. After the pastry has chilled, heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Cut off a third of the pastry and keep it wrapped while you roll out the rest, and use this to line a pie tin – 20-22cm round and 4cm deep – leaving a slight overhang. Roll the remaining third to a circle about 28cm in diameter. Pat the apples dry with kitchen paper, and tip them into the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Give a quick mix with your hands and immediately pile high into the pastry-lined tin.
  5. Brush a little water around the pastry rim and lay the pastry lid over the apples pressing the edges together to seal. Trim the edge with a sharp knife and make 5 little slashes on top of the lid for the steam to escape. (Can be frozen at this stage.)
  6. Brush it all with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, then remove and let it sit for 5-10 mins.
  7. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream.
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[Recipe] Scotch egg pie

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scotch-egg-pie

Ingredients

8 medium eggs
14 Lincolnshire sausages
1 tsp ground mace
1 tbsp thyme leaves
100g fresh breadcrumbs
500g pack shortcrust pastry
flour, for dusting
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method

Put 6 of the eggs in a large pan of cold water. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Leave for 5 mins, then lift out eggs and cool under cold running water. Peel.

Snip the ends of the sausages and squeeze the meat out into a mixing bowl. Add the mace, thyme, 75g of the breadcrumbs, 1 remaining egg and some ground pepper, and mix together well.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Criss-cross 2 long strips of baking parchment in a 20cm pie tin or round cake tin (to help you lift out the pie). Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured surface to line the tin. Scatter remaining breadcrumbs over the base of the pastry, then pat in about a quarter of the sausage mixture. Evenly space the peeled eggs on top, then gently pack the meat around and over – trying to evenly cover the eggs without leaving any gaps.

Roll out remaining pastry, cover the pie, then trim the edges. Pinch and crimp edges to seal, poke a steam hole in the top, then glaze with the final egg, lightly beaten with a fork. Scatter with the sesame seeds, then bake for 30 mins.

Remove the pie from the oven and carefully remove it from the tin. Place on a baking tray and return to the oven for 10 mins to brown the sides of the pie. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, then serve in chunky wedges.

If, like me, you’re allergic to sesame seeds, you can replace them with poppy seeds.

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[Recipe] Tourtière

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Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds ground pork, ideally organic & local
1 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
Pastry for two double-crust, 9-inch pies
1 egg, beaten, for glaze

1. In a large, heavy frying pan, combine pork with cold water and heat to boiling point. It should be slightly soupy.

2. Add onion, celery, pepper, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg and cinnamon. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 1 hours; stir often. Add more water if mixture dries out.

3. Halfway through cooking time, season with salt to taste.

4. Stir in rolled oats and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bay leaf and allow to cool.

5. Meanwhile, line two 9-inch pie plates with pastry. When meat mixture is lukewarm, divide it between two pie shells and spread it out evenly.

6. Brush around outer edge of pastry with the beaten egg. Place top crust on the tart and press gently around the edge to seal. Trim pastry, crimp edges and cut steam vents in top crust. Decorate as desired.

7. Bake in preheated 425°F/220°C oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375°F/190°C and bake another 25 minutes or until crust is golden.

Makes two 9-inch meat pies.

Make ahead

Is there any point in making just one meat pie? Not really. They freeze beautifully; whether pre-cooked or frozen with raw pastry dough, which ensures that you can get a hot, filling meal during the busy days ahead. Pies can be frozen directly after assembly, with the dough still raw. Wrap them well in plastic wrap and freeze.

To cook:

Remove pie from the freezer and unwrap.
Brush the top with a little beaten egg and place frozen meat pie in a preheated 375°F/190°C oven.
Bake until golden and heated through, about 50 minutes.

Pies can also be baked and cooled, then wrapped and frozen.

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[Recipe] Michel Roux Snr’s Lemon Tart

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Serves 8

Prep 25 mins
Cook 1 hr plus chilling

Ingredients

Pastry (makes double)
500g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
140g icing sugar
250g unsalted butter , cubed
4 egg yolks

Filling
5 eggs
140g caster sugar
150ml double cream
juice 2-3 lemon (about 100ml/3.5fl oz)
and 2 tbsp lemon zest

Method

1. To make the pastry, mix the flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until crumbly. Mix in the egg yolks. If the pastry is still too dry, add 1-2 tbsp water until it comes together. Roll into a ball and divide in half (freeze one half for another recipe). Flatten out the pastry with your hands, wrap the dough in cling film, then chill for at least 30 mins. While the pastry is chilling, make the filling. Beat all the ingredients, except for the zest, together. Sieve the mixture, then stir in the zest.

2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a £1 coin, then lift into a 23cm tart tin. Press down gently on the bottom and sides, then trim off any excess pastry. Stab a few holes in the bottom with a fork and put back in the fridge for 30 mins.

3. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line the tart with foil and fill with rice or dried beans. Bake for 10 mins, then remove the tart tin from the oven, discard the foil, and bake for another 20 mins until biscuity. When the pastry is ready, remove it from the oven, pour in the lemon mixture and bake again for 30-35 mins until just set. Leave to cool, then remove the tart from the tin and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Notes:

  • The quantity of pastry given is about double the amount that you’ll need because if I’m going to the effort of making my own pastry, I always make double and freeze half for next time. If you don’t want to freeze some, simply halve the pastry quantities.
  • To make this tart even more decadent, whip some whipping cream with icing sugar and a bit of lemon juice, then fold in a sheet of soaked leaf gelatine. Top generously and leave to set.
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Want pie now!

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I recent IM conversation with Katy :)

(13:46:38) Rc: heyho
(13:46:44) Rc: how’s you feeling?
(13:46:53) Rc: have you had pie?
(13:47:36) Rc: how be the beastie?
(13:47:41) Rc: has he had pie?
(13:47:51) Rc: can I have pie?
(13:47:54) Rc: hmmmmmmm, pie!
(13:48:04) Rc: pie! pie! pie! pie! pie!
(13:48:17) Katy: i am currently having pie

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Lemon custard tart

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Ingredients

One 9-inch sweet pastry shell
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
175ml lemon juice
190g caster sugar
60g butter
icing sugar to decorate

Directions

  1. In a non-stick saucepan, with a whisk or fork, beat eggs and egg yolks until blended. Stir in lemon juice and 150g sugar.
  2. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mix thickens and coats a spoon well (about 15 minutes). Do not boil as mixture will curdle.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.
  4. Pour lemon filling in pastry shell.
  5. Refrigerate tart overnight.
  6. Before serving, sprinkle remaining sugar on top of tart and melt sugar glaze using grill or blowtorch until it just turns brown. If using grill, cover pastry with foil to prevent over-browning.
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Chocolate cream pie

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Ingredients

Biscuit base
120g rich tea bisbuits
120g butter, softened

Filling
50g corn flour
100g + 1tsp caster sugar
90g plain chocolate, chopped
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Topping
150ml double or whipping cream

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 190oC
  2. Beat biscuits until fine crumb.
  3. In shallow 9inch pie dish, mix biscuits crumbs with softened butter and press mixture on bottom and upside of dish. Bake crust for 8 minutes and cool on wire rack.
  4. In a large, non-stick saucepan mix the corn flour, 100g sugar and stir in milk and chocolate. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until chocolate mixture thickens and boils. Boil for 1 minute and immediately remove from heat.
  5. In a cup, beat the egg yolks with a fork and stir in a small amount of the chocolate mix. Slowly pour the egg mix back into the chocolate mix, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.
  6. Cook stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and coats a spoon well. Do not boil otherwise the mixture will curdle.
  7. Stir in vanilla essence and remaining butter until blended.
  8. Pour chocolate filling in the biscuit crust and smooth the top with a spatula.
  9. Press dampened grease-proof paper directly onto the surface of the hot filling to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate pie for at least 3 hours or until well chilled.
  10. Whip cream with a teaspoon of sugar and flomp on top of pie.
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[recipe] Ultimate fish pie

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Katy and I watched the Hairy Bikers make this pie. It was so droolworthy that we just had to do it. It serves 6, so just use half the ingredients to make a very good meal for 2 ;)

We used cod and haddock for the white fish, skipped the salmon (cause I’m not a fan) and added some fresh scallops for a bit more seafood. There is no way in hell this can be thought of as a healthy meal with all the cream, butter and cheese that’s in it. But damn if it ain’t good!

Also, while there are many steps in the recipe, it’s actually very straightforward to do.

Ingredients

For the potato topping

1.5kg/3lb 5oz potatoes (such as King Edwards, Maris Piper or Estima)
salt and white pepper
butter, to taste
100g/3½oz grated gruyère cheese

For the poaching broth
1 litre/1 pint 15fl oz fish stock
4 tbsp dry vermouth
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 small stick of celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
pinch saffron

For the fish
750g/1lb 10oz white fish (such as haddock, hake, sea bass or halibut)
250g/9oz smoked haddock
200g/7oz salmon
120g/4oz raw prawns

For the parsley sauce
75g/2½oz unsalted butter
75g/2½oz plain flour
150ml/5fl oz full-fat milk
large handful parsley, finely chopped
150ml/5fl oz double cream
salt and white pepper

To assemble the pie
butter, to grease the dish
125g/4½oz leaf spinach
4 hard-boiled eggs
25g/1oz ciabatta crumbs
25g/1oz grated parmesan cheese

Method

1. For the potato topping, place the potatoes in a large pan of boiling salted water and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.
2. Drain the potatoes well and mash them with a potato masher or ricer along with salt, white pepper and butter, to taste.
3. Stir in the gruyère and set aside the potatoes, keeping them warm.
4. For the poaching broth, place the fish stock, vermouth, onion, fennel, carrot, celery, bay leaf and saffron in a large pan and bring to the boil.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.
6. For the fish, place the white fish, smoked haddock, salmon and prawns into the broth and poach for three minutes. Using a slotted spoon, gently remove the fish from the pan and set aside.
7. Pour the broth through a sieve into a clean pan, discarding the vegetables and herbs. Bring the broth back to the boil and simmer until reduced by half.
8. For the parsley sauce, heat the butter and flour together in a pan over a low heat, stirring to make a paste.
9. Add the reduced broth a ladleful at a time and keep whisking until smooth. Add the milk and the parsley, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes.
10. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
11. To finish the sauce, add the double cream to the pan and season, to taste, with salt and white pepper.
12. To assemble the pie, butter a casserole dish generously and flake the set-aside fish, discarding any skin and bones. Lay the fish in the casserole dish and pour about half of the parsley sauce on top (reserve the remainder of the sauce to use as a pouring sauce on the finished pie).
13. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the spinach to the pan. Blanch for a minute until the spinach has wilted. Drain well.
14. Slice the hard-boiled eggs and lay on top of the fish, followed by the blanched spinach.
15. Cover with the mashed potatoes.
16. In a small bowl, mix together the ciabatta crumbs and the parmesan. Sprinkle the cheese breadcrumbs on top of the pie.
17. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown. Reheat the parsley sauce and serve the pie hot with the remaining parsley sauce poured over.

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