Upper Crust

Sun Herald

Sunday January 13, 2008

Karen Martini

A homemade pie is the ideal picnic centrepiece. It's tasty, portable and needs only a simple green salad to become a satisfying meal. By Karen Martini.

When you're out and about, these picnic pies are perfect for feeding hungry mouths.

1. Pork, potato and fetta pie with yeast crust

This robust pie has a firm texture and is great served cold. 3.5g dry yeast

75ml warm water

500g plain flour

pinch sea salt

1 egg

85g butter, softened

100ml iced water

1 egg, mixed with 1 tbsp water

Filling

500g pork mince

1/2 bunch sorrel leaves (optional)

1 small bunch parsley, chopped

4 sprigs oregano, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 eschalots, chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4-5 potatoes, peeled and finely sliced

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

100ml pouring cream

150g fetta

For pastry, combine yeast and warm water in a small bowl and stir well. Add

50g plain flour and stir until smooth. Cover and set aside in a warm place for

30 minutes or until frothy.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place remaining flour, sea salt, egg, butter and iced water. Use dough hook to mix slowly. Add yeast mixture and mix until dough comes together. Turn out pastry and knead into a smooth ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and rest in a warm place for 1-1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to fan-forced 170C (190C conventional). For filling, place all ingredients except fetta in a large bowl and stir well. Add 100g fetta and mix to combine.

Using three-quarters of the dough, divide into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than

the other. Roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface to make 2 circles of about 30 centimetres and 35 centimetres in diameter. (Keep remaining dough for another use.)

Use the large pastry circle to line a 30-centimetre pie dish and press filling into dish. Add remaining fetta and top with small pastry circle. Roll and pinch edges to seal, cut a hole for steam to escape, then brush top with egg wash and bake for

1 hour. Reduce heat to fan-forced 150C (170C conventional) and bake for a further 30 minutes, then remove and cool.

2. Tomato, mustard and gruyere tarts

Tomatoes will be deliciously in season over the next couple of months and these French-style tarts really show them off. Serves 6

1 quantity yeast pastry

(see previous recipe)

1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp water

6-8 ripe tomatoes, sliced into rounds

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

3 sprigs thyme, leaves only

3 eschalots, finely sliced

50ml extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp creme fraiche

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

100g gruyere, grated

Preheat oven to fan-forced 200C (220C conventional). Take three-quarters of

the pastry and divide in half. Roll each piece out on a lightly floured surface into

a rectangle about 35 x 12 centimetres in size. Place pastry bases on lightly greased oven trays, prick with a fork and brush egg wash on the long sides.

Take remaining pastry and roll out 8 thin logs about 35 centimetres long and

4 about 12 centimetres long. Twist long logs together in pairs and place along the long edges of pastry. Place short logs along short edges. Brush tops with egg wash.

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, thyme, eschalots and oil.

Set aside for 10 minutes. Combine creme fraiche and mustard and spread over pastry. Sprinkle bases with gruyere and top with tomatoes, thyme, eschalots and some of the tomato juices. Bake tarts for about 50 minutes.

3. Egg and ham pie

You will need a deep 24-centimetre fluted tin with a loose base.

60ml extra virgin olive oil

3 leeks, thinly sliced

1/2 brown onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch English spinach, shredded

50ml pouring cream

20g butter

30cm square puff pastry

4 free-range eggs

6 thin slices pancetta

? bunch chives

Preheat oven to fan-forced 220C (240C conventional).

Heat oil in a saucepan over low heat. Add leeks, onion and garlic, season and cook for 10 minutes.

Add 100ml water and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add spinach, cream and butter and cook for 3 minutes, then puree with a stick blender until smooth. Cool.

Place pastry in the base of a lightly oiled 24-centimetre fluted tin (at least

4 centimetres deep) with removable base. Spread leak mixture over pastry and

3 centimetres up the sides. Crack eggs on top of leek mixture and scatter with pancetta. Add chives and season to taste. Roll edges of pastry down to the level of the pie mixture, twisting in a rope-like fashion. Place tin on a heavy cast iron tray (to keep enough heat under tart to cook pastry). Bake for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is golden and cooked.Food for thought If you want to add extra ingredients to the tomato, mustard and gruyere tart, try 6 split anchovies and 10 pitted mammoth olives. For an extra cheesy taste, add soft fetta, goat's cheese or taleggio.

The egg and ham pie is a perfect breakfast treat. It can be eaten warm or cold and the creamed leeks and spinach give it a bright-green base.

With a glass of...

1 SPARKLING SHIRAZ

Pork, potato and fetta pie with yeast crust

2 RIESLING

Tomato, mustard and gruyere tarts

3 SPARKLING MINERAL WATER

Egg and ham pie

© 2008 Sun Herald

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