Cheese and Onion Topped Vegetable Pie

This was a yummy veggie pie.

Cheese and Onion Topped Vegetable Pie (from Waitrose Autumn)
(Serves 4)
(9 WW SmartPoints per serving)

800g potatoes, peeled and chopped
splash milk
1 tbsp oil
1 carrot sliced
1 pepper, diced
300g leeks, washed and thickly sliced
40g butter
40g plain flour
400ml milk
1 tsp mustard
80g cheddar cheese, grated
1 bunch spring onions, sliced

Put the potatoes into a saucepan and over with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 10-15 mins until tender. Drain and return to the pan.

Add the milk and mash well. Season.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the veg for 5 mins. Transfer to an ovenproof dish.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Gradually add the milk stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in the mustard and 20g cheese, season and pour over the veg.

Mix the remaining cheese and spring onions into the mash and spoon on top of the veg. Bake for 30 mins until golden.

Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Potato Pie

I made this for my parents a couple of weeks ago. I liked it but the sauce split. I'm not sure why. It was pretty tasty though, I like potatoes as the pie crust.

Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Potato Pie (from Let The Baking Begin)
(Serves 4)

1.35kg potatoes, sliced thinly
2 chicken breasts
300g button mushrooms, quartered
4 strips thick cut bacon, cut into ⅓ inch pieces
½ large onion, chopped
30g grated cheese
125ml stock
60ml single cream
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic powder

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add the chopped bacon and render the bacon until it crisps up. Add the chopped onions to the bacon and continue cooking until the onion is golden in colour. Tilt the frying pan to the side allow the fat to drip to the bottom and remove the onion and bacon to a separate bowl.

Heat the frying pan on high with the bacon fat in it, add the mushrooms and brown them over high heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. Add the salt, pepper and garlic powder, mix to coat.

Cut the chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Add the salt, black pepper and garlic powder and toss to coat.

Layer the ingredients in the following order: chicken, half of bacon and onion mixture, light sprinkling of cheese, mushrooms, bacon and onion mixture, a little bit of salt and pepper to season the mushrooms, light sprinkling of cheese and lastly arrange most of the potatoes on top.

Mix the chicken stock and cream and pour on top. Cover the baking dish with foil or lid. Place into preheated to 220C oven and bake for 15 mins, then reduce the heat to 180C and bake for another 40 mins. Remove the foil or the lid and cook for additional 20-30 mins or until the top is golden brown. Serve.

Chicken and Ham Hock Pretzel Pies

These were absolutely yummy. Something a bit different with the pretzel topping, full of chicken and ham. I served it with green veggies.

Chicken and Ham Hock Pretzel Pies (from WeightWatchers)

(11 Smart Points per serving)

(Serves 4)

165g strong white bread flour, plus extra to dust 

½ x 7g sachet fast action dried yeast 

1 tsp brown sugar 

1 tbsp olive oil 

Calorie controlled cooking spray 

1 onion, finely sliced 

300g skinless chicken breast fillet, diced 

2 tbsp plain flour 

300ml chicken stock, made with ½ stock cube 

2 tbsp half-fat crème fraiche 

150g cooked ham hock, shredded 

100g frozen peas 

1tbsp fresh thyme leaves  

2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda 

rock salt 

Put the bread flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Combine 110ml warm water with the yeast, sugar and half the oil, and add to the flour. Mix for 5 mins, until you have a smooth dough. Put in a bowl misted with cooking spray, cover, and let rise in a warm place for  30 mins to 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, gently fry the onion in the remaining oil for 3-4 mins, until soft. Add the chicken and fry for 2-3 mins. Add the plain flour and cook for 1-2 mins, stirring. Gradually add the stock, stirring well between each addition. Simmer gently until the sauce starts to thicken, then add the crème fraiche, ham, peas and thyme. Set aside.

When the dough has risen, tip it onto a floured surface and divide into four equal portions. Roll each one into a long sausage, then form a U shape. Cross the ends over each other twice, fold the U down to sit on the two ends, and press the ends in to secure. Leave to rise for 20-30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Divide the pie filling between four pie dishes. Bring 1 litre of water to the boil and gently poach the pretzels, two at a time, for 1 min, turning once. Remove with a slotted spoon. Put a pretzel on top of each pie, scatter with the rock salt and bake for 20-25 mins, until deep golden brown.

 

Sausage and Bean Pie with Ciabatta Crumbs

This is a delicious pie, lovely and filling and will be perfect for the coming winter months. The original recipe suggests Toulouse sausages but I used others and it was still delicious.

Sausage and Bean Pie with Ciabatta Crumbs (from The Times)
(Serves 4)

For the spiced tomato sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions
2 large garlic cloves
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar

For the pie:
4 tbsp olive oil
8 sausages
150g chorizo cooking sausage, sliced
1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
140g ciabatta bread, torn into pieces
zest 1 lemon, grated
salt

Make the spiced tomato sauce: heat the olive oil over a gentle heat. Add the onions, and cook for 5 mins to soften. Add the garlic and spices, and cook, stirring, for a couple more mins. Pour in the tomatoes, add the sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir well then simmer gently, uncovered, for about 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in your casserole pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and brown them all over, then add the chorizo and fry for a min or two, or until starting to crisp at the edges. At this stage your sausages won’t be fully cooked through, but that’s okay. Add the beans, half the parsley and the tomato sauce.

Pulse the torn ciabatta in a food processor for just a few seconds or until it forms rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the remaining oil, half the remaining parsley, half the lemon zest and a little salt.

Pile the crumb mixture on top of the sausage mixture, spread out evenly and bake in the oven for 35–40 mins or until the crust is golden and the sausages are cooked through. Cover with foil if it starts to brown too much. Once cooked, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and lemon zest and serve.

Sausage and Bean Pie with Ciabatta Crumbs

This is a delicious pie, lovely and filling and will be perfect for the coming winter months. The original recipe suggests Toulouse sausages but I used others and it was still delicious.

Sausage and Bean Pie with Ciabatta Crumbs (from The Times)
(Serves 4)

For the spiced tomato sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions
2 large garlic cloves
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar

For the pie:
4 tbsp olive oil
8 sausages
150g chorizo cooking sausage, sliced
1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
140g ciabatta bread, torn into pieces
zest 1 lemon, grated
salt

Make the spiced tomato sauce: heat the olive oil over a gentle heat. Add the onions, and cook for 5 mins to soften. Add the garlic and spices, and cook, stirring, for a couple more mins. Pour in the tomatoes, add the sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir well then simmer gently, uncovered, for about 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in your casserole pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and brown them all over, then add the chorizo and fry for a min or two, or until starting to crisp at the edges. At this stage your sausages won’t be fully cooked through, but that’s okay. Add the beans, half the parsley and the tomato sauce.

Pulse the torn ciabatta in a food processor for just a few seconds or until it forms rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the remaining oil, half the remaining parsley, half the lemon zest and a little salt.

Pile the crumb mixture on top of the sausage mixture, spread out evenly and bake in the oven for 35–40 mins or until the crust is golden and the sausages are cooked through. Cover with foil if it starts to brown too much. Once cooked, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and lemon zest and serve.

Mary Berry's Chicken and Bacon Lattice Pie

My sister made this for us for dinner just before we went to the Isle of Wight. It was absolutely delicious, a really homey comforting dish and definitely one I will have to try for myself.

Chicken and Bacon Lattice Pie (from BBC Food)
(Serves 6)

6 skinless chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)
4 celery sticks, diced
4 bay leaves, roughly sliced
200ml dry white wine
300ml chicken stock
250g smoked back bacon (about 7 rashers), cut into small pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped
50g butter
60g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp crème fraîche
1 tbsp grainy mustard
2 x 375g packets ready-rolled, all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Put the chicken legs, celery and bay leaves into a large ovenproof saucepan, pour over the wine and stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 30–40 mins, or until the chicken legs are cooked and tender. Set aside to cool.

Once cool, remove the meat from the chicken bones. Break the meat into bite-sized pieces before transferring to a bowl. Strain the stock, reserving the celery and discarding the bay leaves, and measure out the liquid. You should have about 750ml; if not, make up to this amount with a little extra stock or white wine.

Heat a large frying pan and fry the bacon pieces over a medium-high heat for 3 mins. Add the onion, cover with a lid and fry for a further 10 mins until the onion is softened. Add the butter, stir until melted, and then sprinkle in the flour to make a roux. Pour the reserved liquid into the roux a little at a time, whisking as you add, and stir over a high heat until thickened to a smooth sauce consistency.

Add a little salt and pepper, the reserved celery, crème fraiche and mustard and mix to combine before adding the chicken. Spoon the filling into an ovenproof pie dish and level the top. Leave until cool and then chill, covered, in the fridge for 30 mins.

Meanwhile, prepare the pastry for the pie. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each of the pastry sheets to about 3mm thick. Cut each piece into long, thick ribbons, about 3cm wide. You will need to make enough to cover the top of the dish, about 16 in total. Weave the ribbons together on a piece of baking paper, until you have a pastry top that is large enough to cover your pie. Chill in the fridge for 15 mins to firm up or, if time allows, freeze until solid.

Take the filling out of the fridge and brush the edges of the dish with a little beaten egg. Carefully slide the pastry lattice from the baking paper and lay on top of the chilled filling. Trim the excess pastry around the rim and lightly press to seal.

Increase the oven temperature to 200C. Brush the pastry with the remaining beaten egg and bake for 30 mins until the pastry is golden and cooked through, and the chicken is bubbling. Serve.

Chicken and Leek Pie

The original title for this recipe is Chicken and Leek Shepherd's Pie - but to my mind you can't call anything shepherd's pie unless it has lamb mince in it. It's the lamb that makes the shepherd's bit not the mash potato. Anyway, enough of my English semantics!

Despite my quibble over it's name it is a delicious pie and a bit lighter than a traditional mince filled one. 

Chicken and Leek Pie (from Healthy Seasonal Recipes)

(Serves 6)

1 tbsp butter
2 large leeks, chopped leek
1 tbsp plain flour
185ml chicken stock
60ml cream or milk
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 small tin sweet corn
salt and pepper
3 baking potatoes, cooked and mashed.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium high heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring often until softened and starting to brown, 3 to 5 mins.

Sprinkle the flour over the leeks and stir to coat. Stir in the stock followed by the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often until the sauce is thick, about 5 mins.

Stir the chicken, parsley, sweetcorn, salt and pepper into the leek mixture, and remove from the heat. Transfer to an oven-proof dish and top with the mashed potatoes.

Put into the oven and bake for 30 mins until the potatoes are starting to brown and heated through and the sauce is bubbling. Serve.

Mushroom Galettes

I made these lovely mushroom galettes a little while ago, the recipe below is for one large pie but I made 4 smaller ones instead. I simplified the original recipe as I didn't have time to make caramelised onions but these are still very tasty.

Mushroom Galettes (adapted from Circle B Kitchen)
(Serves 4-6)

For the pastry
160g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
113g cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
60g plain yogurt or sour cream
2 tsp lemon juice
60 ml cold water

15g dried porcini mushrooms
1 onion, thinly sliced
300g mixed mushroom, cleaned and sliced
1 tbsp butter,
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme)
50g blue cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper
1 9-inch pie crust dough
1 egg, beaten with a little water

Preheat oven to 200C.

Put the flour and salt into a bowl and add in the butter. Using your fingertips rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the flour mixture. Mix in the liquid until you get something that resembles dough. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

Put the dried mushrooms into a bowl and cover with boiling water, pushing them down to make sure they’re all submerged. Leave them to soak for about 15 to 20 mins, then drain. Chop the mushrooms and set aside.

Melt the butter and oil in a frying pan over a high heat and add the onion and fresh mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms until they are softened and any liquid has mostly evaporated. Add the herbs, season and sauté for another 5 mins. There should be no excess liquid in the pan. Leave the onions and mushrooms to cool and mix with the porcini mushrooms.

Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Roll the pie dough out to an 27-30cm circle and place on the lined baking sheet. Place the mushroom mixture in the centre of the dough, leaving a 5cm border all the way around. Fold the pie dough towards the center, overlapping where necessary. The mushrooms should be exposed in the centre. Sprinkle over the blue cheese.

Brush the crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle over a little salt. Place the galette in the oven and bake for 30 mins or until the crust is just golden brown.

Daring Kitchen February 2016: Katmer Pie

So Daring Cooks is no more. There were not enough people to keep it going, but Daring Bakers and The Daring Kitchen still exists and some of the recipes on there will be cooking rather than baking every so often. So I'll have a go whenever the feeling takes me!

This month we were challenged by Milkica from Mimi’s Kingdom to prepare a traditional Serbian Katmer pie. This one is still baking but I felt like I could cope with it. I'm not much of a cake maker, well complicated ones anyway, give me a traybake and I'm well away, but this Spinach and Ricotta Pie seemed doable. It felt a bit like a riff on a Spanakopita, which I have made before for Daring Cooks. I loved the pastry, which was fun to make and really lovely and crispy. The filling could have done with a bit of chilli or something to pep it up a bit but it was by no means inedible. I love being challenged to make new things and turn my hand to things I would never normally make and The Daring Kitchen really lets me do that.

  

Katmer Pie

DOUGH

One large pie baked in a dish approximately 16 x 16” / 40 x 40cm (enough for family of six)

Ingredients
4 cups spooned & scraped / 500g all-purpose (plain) flour 1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups / 300 – 350ml warm water
More all-purpose (plain) flour for dusting
2 – 3 tablespoons / 30 – 45g soft lard

Directions: 

Measure all purpose flour, warm water and salt. Put lard in a small bowl and leave on a warm place.

Mix all ingredients except lard in glass or plastic bowl. You will have relatively soft dough. 

Transfer dough on a floured surface and knead it a little until you achieve elastic, but soft dough.

Divide dough in six equal pieces and shape every piece in round form. Leave them to rest 10 minutes. 

Using rolling pin roll every piece of dough into flat, round shape, approximately 1/8” / 3 - 4mm thick. Divide pieces in two groups of three. Brush first piece of dough with melted lard and cover with another piece of dough. Brush second piece of dough with lard and cover with third piece. Do not brush this third piece of dough with lard! Repeat the same with another three pieces of dough.

You will have two piles of dough pieces. Leave them again to rest for 10 minutes. 

Roll each pile using rolling pin into round shape, approximately 1/4 - 1/3” / 5 - 8mm thick. 

Using sharp knife make eight cuts around the formed circle (see picture). 

Brush surface with melted lard.

Fold brushed, cut petals into middle part of dough.

Continue until you fold all eight of them.

Turn the dough so the folded parts are underneath. Do the same with another pile of dough. Leave both pieces of dough to rest until you prepare the filling. 

CHEESE AND SWISS CHARD
Given recipe yields enough for one Katmer pie.

Ingredients
2 cups / 500g soft cottage cheese (or ricotta)
1 pound / 500g Swiss chard
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt (amount depends on cheese you use, you should try prepared filling and add more salt if necessary)

Directions: 

Cut Swiss chard into strips and place it in big glass, plastic or metal bowl. Add eggs, salt and cheese.

Mix all ingredients using spoon or your hands. Filling one is ready. 

Turn on your oven on 350°F / 180°C. Roll one of your pieces of dough on a lightly floured surface into large, square or rectangular shape to fit your baking tin. 

Transfer layer of dough on baking tin brushed with melted lard. 

Arrange your filling all over the first layer of dough. 

Roll out the other piece of dough and transfer it to baking tin, covering filling completely. Press edges with your fingers to stick together.

Brush surface of pie with melted lard.

Cut whole pie into small square pieces. Bake pie in preheated oven for around 30 minutes until deep golden in color. 

Secret Recipe Club: Chocolate Chess Pie

So I have started a new thing, Secret Recipe Club, well I haven't started it, but I have started participating in it! Basically, each month, I get assigned another members blog to make a recipe from and write a blog post all about it and someone will do the same to me, it's all secret though, so I don't find out who made what from my blog until today. It is a fab way to find out about new blogs and see what everyone is doing out there! 

This month I got Nicole from I am a Honey Bee, I loved her blog and the fact that she, like me, hates being called Nicky! She also has a great variety of recipe on her blog and lots of cakes and puddings. I had to make a pie, I hummed and hawed over which one to make and finally plumped for a Chocolate Chess Pie, something I have heard of lots of times but never tried before, so I had no idea how it was going to turn out! I took it to a dinner party at my sisters last weekend and it went down a treat. Everyone loved it and I totally recommend the addition of the coffee as I think it cut through the sweetness beautifully.

I made one change, I made a graham cracker crust rather than a pastry crust. I have so many graham crackers sat on the side in my kitchen that I really had to use them in something! Obviously if you're in the UK and want to make this, make the pastry crust as you can't get graham crackers ANYWHERE here!

Chocolate Chess Pie (adapted from I Am A Honey Bee)
(Serves 8)

For the crust
1 sleeve graham crackers
113g butter, melted
1 tbsp sugar

For the filling
250g granulated sugar
30g cocoa powder
1/4 tsp espresso powder or 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder
4 tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat your oven to 180C.

To make the crust, put the graham crackers in a plastic bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs. Add the sugar and melted butter and mix until well combined. Push into a 23 cm pie pan to form a thin crust on the bottom and sides. Bake for 8 mins, remove from oven, and chill until firm and crunchy, about an hour.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, and espresso powder. Pour the butter into the cocoa mixture and beat until all combined. Then add the vanilla extract and eggs.  Mix for 2-3 mins. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for 35-40 mins until the pie is set on top but still soft in the middle. Allow to cool for at least an hour before slicing. The pie will continue to set as it cools.

An InLinkz Link-up

Indian Potato and Spinach Filo Pie

A little while ago I was desperately trying to use up some filo pastry and made lots of pies, this was one of the pies I made. It was wonderfully fragrant and lovely served with a dollop of mango chutney or raita and salad.

Indian Potato and Spinach Filo Pie (from Good Food Magazine August 2011)
(Serves 8)

1¼kg large waxy potatoes such as Charlotte, halved
85g butter
2 onions, chopped
1 tbsp cumin seed
1 tbsp mustard seed
2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 red chillies, halved, deseeded and sliced
3 tbsp curry paste
400g bag fresh spinach
4 tomatoes, chopped
small bunch coriander, chopped

For the pastry
270g pack filo pastry (6 large sheets)
50g melted butter
1 tsp black mustard seed

Heat the oven to 190C. To make the filling, heat a pan of salted water. When boiling, add the potatoes and boil for 15 mins until tender. Melt the butter then fry the onions for a few mins. Add the cumin, mustard seeds, ginger and chillies and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 7 mins until soft. Stir in curry paste.

Cook the spinach in the microwave on high for 5 mins. Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as you can, then chop it. Drain the potatoes and tip them into the spice mixture. Crush lightly to break them up into chunks rather than mash. Toss in the spice mixture with plenty of salt to coat them, then add the spinach, tomatoes and coriander.

Carefully unroll the pastry and brush 2 x 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins with some butter. Brush the first sheet of pastry and lay it in and across the tin so that it hangs over the side. Do the same with another sheet of pastry to cover the other side of the tin (so the two form a cross), butter and fold the final sheet in half and lay it in the base of the tin to create a firm base. Do the same with the other tin and remaining pastry.

Spoon the filling into the tin and fold up the pastry that is overhanging so that it covers the filling. Brush generously with the remaining butter and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for 35 mins until golden and crisp.

Amy's Apple Pie

I have a friend who emigrated to Australia and this is her Apple Pie recipe. She made it for a thanksgiving dinner we had at university and I loved it so much that she wrote the recipe out for me. This was about 7 or 8 years ago and I found it in a box, so I made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it. The pastry was lovely and light and crispy and the apples were perfect. Thank you Amy!

Amy's Apple Pie

(Serves 6-8)

For the pastry

225g plain flour

pinch salt

2 tsp caster sugar

100g butter

some cold water

For the filling

4 cooking apples

handful sultanas/raisins

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp mixed spice

rind and juice 1 lemon

Sift the flour and salt into a big bowl and add the sugar. Add the butter in pieces and rub in until you have fine breadcrumbs. Add enough cold water to bind the mixture so it becomes smooth. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it in the fridge for 30 mins.

Peel and core the apples and place them in a bowl. If you put lemon juice over them it stops them going brown while you roll the pastry. Add all the other ingredients to the apples and mix well.

Cut the dough in half and roll out to fit the dish. Arrange the apples so they are kind of flat. Roll out the other half of the dough, lay over the top and trim off the edges. Use the leftover bits to make two little leaves on top. Make a slit in the top to let out the steam. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Bake at 200C for 15 mins and then reduce the heat to 180C for 20 mins until nice and golden on top.

Homity Pie

This is really something I really loved from school dinners at my previous job. The macaroni cheese, Cumberland sausage and mash and homity pie were my favourites. So I decided to recreate the pie in mini form for me and I have to say that my version tasted a lot healthier but still full of flavour.

 

Homity Pie (from Amuse Your Bouche)
(makes 1 large pie)

250g plain flour
150g butter, cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp oil
1 leek, halved lengthwise then sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
450g potatoes
25g butter, softened
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp mild/medium curry powder
3 tbsp milk

Put the flour and butter into a bowl and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the egg and mix until it forms a soft dough. Wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for half an hour.

Flour a board and roll out the pastry. Lightly grease a large flan dish, and lay the pastry on top, pressing gently into the corners of the dish. Trim the pastry to fit. Place some baking beans on top of the pastry and blind bake for around 15-20 mins, until golden brown.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, and cook the leeks and garlic over a medium heat for around 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft. Meanwhile, chop the potatoes into fairly small chunks, and boil for around 15 mins, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Use a fork to lightly mash the potatoes. Add the leeks and garlic, butter, parsley, curry powder, egg, milk, and half the cheese. Mix well. Transfer the mixture to the pie crust, and spread out into an even layer. Top with the remaining cheese, and bake for a further 25-30 mins, until the cheese is crispy and the pastry is golden brown. Serve with salad.

Lentil and Spinach Pie

This was a spur of the minute make with leftover spinach from a different recipe. It was a nice cosy pie, I made half the recipe and it only to 30 mins to cook, so I'd keep checking on it. It felt really healthy with all the veg as well. I used red pepper instead of celery in the original recipe.

Lentil and Spinach Pie (adapted from Kitchen Diaries II - Nigel Slater)

(Serves 6)

2 onions, diced

2 carrots, diced 

1 red pepper, diced

oil

350g mushrooms, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely sliced

2 bay leaves

3-4 short sprigs thyme

500g jar lentils

500ml vegetable stock

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

500g spinach

1kg floury potatoes

75g butter

 

Heat the oil in a casserole over a medium heat for 10 mins until the onions are golden and almost tender. Add the mushroom and the garlic and stir in to the veg. Add the bay and thyme and then the lentils, together with their bottling liquid, and stir briefly. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil then turn down the heat and leave the mixture to simmer for 20 mins, season with salt, pepper and the balsamic vinegar.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into pieces and boil until tender about 15-20 mins. Drain well, then mash with the butter. Beat hard with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Wash the spinach and whilst still wet, pile 450g into a pan with a lid and let it steam, with an occasional stir over a high heat for a couple of mins until it starts to collapse. Cool under the cold tap, then wring them out and stir into the lentils. (Don't be tempted to add the spinach raw to the lentils, it will produce a lot of water as it cooks and make lentil soup). Fold the remaining spinach into the mash potato.

Spoon the lentils into a baking dish and top with the potato in large rough spoonfuls. Bake for an hour until the edger are bubbling.

Flageolet Bean Pie

For this one I followed all the advice on the Good Food website, which said that it was a bit bland and not very moist, so I added the Mexican paste and the tomatoes and made a really lovely pie.

Mexican Flageolet Bean Pie (adapted from Good Food magazine April 2006)

(Serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 x 400g cans flageolet beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 tsp chipotle paste

5 tbsp crème fraîche

2 tbsp fresh or 2 tsp dried oregano

2 tomatoes, sliced

100g breadcrumbs

50g vegetarian cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion for about 5 mins until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for another min. Add the beans and chipotle paste and cook for 1-2 mins. Add the crème fraîche and oregano. Season well, then cook until heated through.

Mix the breadcrumbs and cheese together. Pour the bean mix into a baking dish and top with the tomatoes, scatter with the breadcrumbs and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden brown. Serve with salad.

Fish Finger Pie

I took the basic recipe and poshed it up a bit, out of necessity rather than by design. The original recipe is very simple; Frozen fishfingers, baked beans, potatoes and cheese. Out of those ingredients I only had baked beans and cheese, but what I did have was cod, a box of Special K, celeriac and swede, all viable substitutes. So using my initiative, I made my own fish fingers and made a slightly posher and less carb heavy version. I have to say it was delicious and definitely something I'll be making again.

Fish Finger Pie (adapted from This Mummy)
(Serves 4)

1/2 swede, cut into chunks
1/2 celeriac, cut into chunks
1 egg, beaten

85g Kellogs Special K, crushed

zest and juice 1 lemon

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp olive oil

400g skinless white fish, sliced into 12 strips

2 cans baked beans
50-100g cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Put the celeriac and swede in a saucepan full of water and cook for 20-25 mins.

Meanwhile, pour the beaten egg into a shallow dish. Tip the cereal onto a plate. Mix the lemon zest into the breadcrumbs along with the oregano and some salt and pepper.

 

Dip the fish strips into the egg, then roll them in the breadcrumbs.

Put the fish fingers in the bottom of a deep ovenproof dish and bake for 15 mins.

When the fish fingers are cooked, take the dish out of the oven and pour over the cans of baked beans. Return to the oven to warm the beans through for 3-5 mins.

When the celeriac and swede is done, mash with a knob of butter and a splash of milk and set aside.

Spoon the mash over the fingers fingers and beans and top with the grated cheese.

Return to the oven and cook for about 10 mins until the cheese is melted and going golden on top.

Apple and Elderberry Pie

I actually made this pie a little while ago and froze it, which is why it looks a but rough around the edges! It was delicious, I do love a good apple pie and I'm really enjoying the elderberries that I picked from my parents garden.

Apple and Elderberry Pie (from Becky Doughty)
(Serves 4-6)

For the pastry
175g plain flour
pinch salt
40g lard
40g butter

For the filling

200g elderberries

3 tbsp cornflour

113g caster sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice
4 cooking apple, thinly sliced

2 tsp cinnamon

60g butter

100g brown sugar

To make the pastry; sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, Then cut the fat into small cubes and add to the flour. Using your fingertips, lightly rub the pieces of fat into the flour.

When the mixture looks like bread crumbs, start to add 2 tbsp of cold water. Use a round-bladed knife to start the mixing, cutting and bringing the mixture together. Carefully add more water if needed, a little at a time, then finally bring the mixture together with your hands to form a smooth ball of dough that will leave the bowl clean.

Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Whilst the pastry is resting, mix the cornflour with 4 tbsp of water and add it to berries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring , until it looks like syrup. Add more cornstarch if the mixture is not thick enough. Remove the pan from heat, add the lemon juice, and set aside.

Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the apples, saute until they are starting to soften but still hold their shape. Add the cinnamon and brown sugar and toss the apples to coat. Gently fold the berries into apples.

Meanwhile, remove your pastry from the fridge. Dust your work surface with flour, cut the pastry in half and, using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces out until it's just under 1cm thick. Butter a shallow 26cm pie dish and line with the pastry, trimming off any excess round the edges using a sharp knife.
Pour the apples and elderberries into pie dish, Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the second piece of pastry, and lay it over the top of the pie. Trim the edges as before and crimp them together with your fingers. Brush the top of the pie with the rest of the beaten egg and make hole in the top of the pastry.
Bake at for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling.

Chicken and Pea Filo Pies

My first meal home from holiday was these Chicken and Pea Filo Pies that I grabbed out the freezer. They were really tasty and the filo was lovely and crunchy. I'll share some foodies New York pictures with you later in the week, when I get around to organising them!

Chicken and Pea Filo Pies (from Olive Magazine)

(Makes 12)

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

300g peas

6 tbsp low fat creme fraiche

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 garlic clove, crushed

small bunch parsley, chopped

juice 1/2 lemon

oil

8 sheets filo pastry, cut into 15cm squares

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix the chicken, peas, creme fraiche, paprika, garlic, parsley and lemon juice together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Brush a 12 hole muffin tin with oil. Take 4 pieces of the Filo and lay them over each other, overlapping to make a star shape. Brush with oil then punch into a hole to make a pastry cup. Repeat until all the holes are filled. 

Divided the chicken mixture between the cups then scrunch any overhanging pastry to cover the tops. Cook for 25-30 mins until golden. Serve.

Guinea Fowl, Sprout and Bacon Pie

My Mum brought me back some guinea fowl from France as it's impossible to get anything other than a whole bird here and that's too much for me. As I also had brussels sprouts leftover from Christmas I made this delicious pie from Waitrose Kitchen Magazine. The pie was lovely, I made it a bit healthier by using filo instead of puff pastry and it worked really well.

Guinea Fowl, Sprout and Bacon Pie
(adapted from Waitrose Magazine January 2014)
(Serves 6-8)

1 whole guinea fowl
2 large carrots, cut into 2cm pieces
2 leeks, sliced
3 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp salt
20g thyme
1 tbsp oil
200g smoked bacon
25g butter
250g mushrooms
200g brussels sprouts, halved or quartered
2 tsp mustard
300ml low fat crème fraiche
1 packet filo pastry
oil

Put the guinea fowl, carrots, leeks, bay leaves, peppercorn, salt and half the thyme in a large pan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil and skim off any scum. Simmer for 1 hr 5 mins (or 20 mins per 450g plus 20 mins). Transfer the bird to a plate and shred the meat, discarding the skin, bones and herbs Strain the stock and reserve, slice the leeks and set aside with the carrots.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the bacon over a high heat until crisp about 4-5 mins. Add the butter, stir in the mushrooms, fry for three more mins until golden. Pour in 200ml of the stock and bring to a boil, then add the sprouts. Boil until the liquid is reduced, thickened and coats the veg.

Take off the heat, stir through the mustard, crème fraiche, meat, reserved veg and leaves from the rest of the thyme. Season and tip into a large pie dish.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Brush the edges of the pie dish with oil. Unroll the filo pastry and lay a sheet of pastry over the pie dish. Brush with olive oil then repeat with the other sheet. Scrunch up the overhanging pastry, fold onto the pie’s surface, and brush with olive oil. Bake for 25-30 mins or until golden and crisp.

Apple Crumble Pie

I went to a friends house for dinner before I went on holiday and I made pudding. We had scrummy chicken fajitas with all the trimmings and then this gorgeous pie to follow. I had to make a huge pie as those are the only pie dishes I had, so I took home leftovers and gave some to my next door neighbour! It was delicious, but I think I would stick to either pie or crumble next time. We had cookie dough ice cream to go with it, you can't go wrong with a bit of cookie dough ice cream!

Apple Crumble Pie (from BBC Food)
(Serves 8)

375g pack ready-made sweet, all-butter shortcrust pastry
4-6/800g Bramley apples
1 tbsp lemon juice
1½ tbsp plain flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50g caster sugar
50g raisins or sultanas

For the crumble topping

85g plain flour
85g butter, cut into small cubes
4 tbsp caster sugar
handful porridge oats

1 tbsp demerara sugar

Lightly flour the work surface, then roll out the pastry until it is about 3cm larger than the pie dish.

Lift the pastry over the dish. Press it into the tin, then trim the edge with a sharp knife. Put the pastry into the fridge to chill while making the filling.

Preheat the oven to 190C and put a baking sheet on the middle shelf.

For the crumble topping, sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mix looks like rough breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar and the handful of oats. Chill the crumble topping in the fridge while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples, cut them into quarters, remove the core, then cut into slices. Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice in a large bowl.

Sift over the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well to coat. Tip in the sugar and raisins. Mix well.

Put the apples into the pastry lined tin, scatter with the crumble mix and then sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top. It might seem a little full and piled up but it will shrink down with cooking. Bake for 30 mins, or until the pastry and crumble are golden and crisp.

Serve warm with cream or ice cream.