Cooksister: Feast your pies on this!

A lekker pie is an easy and filling meal vir die hele familie.

’n Regte pie gaan ver and is also an easy option when you don’t know what to make in the week.

We all love pies, especially when you’re on the go. It’s the best option to fill you up between meals.

Saturday, 23 January is National Pie Day, an opportunity to literally "eat humble pie".

Whether it’s a sweet pie, a fruit pie or a meaty pie, nothing is lekkerder than a good old huis pie.

Historians trace the pie’s initial origins to the Greeks, who are thought to be the originators of the pastry shell which they made by combining water and flour.

The wealthy Romans used many different kinds of vleis, even mussels and other types of seafood, in their pies, while in medieval England, they were most often filled with beef, lamb, wild duck or pigeon and spiced with pepper, currants or dates.

The kwaai thing about a pie is that you can fill it with any leftovers and - depending on what you have and how much you have - you can make one big pie or individual pot pies.

And even if you don’t have vleis leftover, there’s nothing wrong with a good veggie pie mixed with a bietjie gravy or your favourite spice.

If you can make a stew you can make a pie, it’s just about getting the consistency of your filling right.

The most popular pies in South Africa include the classic apple pie, while savoury favourites are pepper steak, chicken and mushroom, and steak and kidney.

Pies also come in the form of quiches, tarts, big pies or small pies and even dishes like a shepherd's pie, a cottage pie or a favourite of the festive season – the mince pie.

Happy baking!

Recipes:

Chicken Pot Pies

Royco

Ingredients

1 packet Royco Creamy Mushroom Sauce

½ ready roasted chicken broken into bite size chunks

1 punnet button mushrooms sliced

30 g fresh sage leaves chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 ml sea salt

1 packet ready rolled puff pastry

1 egg lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of water

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Prepare ROYCO® sauce according to pack instructions.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan & add oil & mushrooms to the pan. Lightly salt mushrooms, & stir fry until mushrooms are cooked & liquid has evaporated.

Mix mushrooms together with chicken, sage & sauce. Divide the mixture into 4 ramekins.

Roll out puff pastry & cut out rounds, ½ cm larger than the ramekin diameter. Brush egg onto the ramekin rims & close with pastry lids. Make 3 slits in each lid for steam to escape.

Brush tops with remaining egg. Bake for 30 min, until the pastry is risen & golden.

Serve with kettle fried chips & green salad.

These pies can be made in advance and kept unbaked in the fridge, but let the filling cool before covering with pastry.

Steak and Kidney pie- Fatima Sydow

Ingredients

700 grams of steak and kidney mix

2 onions peeled and finely chopped

2-3 tablespoons of oil

3 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped

A pinch of salt

1-2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves

2 heaped tablespoons of Bisto( gravy granules) mixed with a 1/4 cup of water

2 packs of ready made puff pastry or as I did using homemade puff pastry

1 egg to egg wash pastry

Method

In a large pot or deep pan heat your oil and add your onions and fry till brown.

Add all ingredients except the bisto and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes stirring and adding a tiny bit of water when needed.

Add your bisto with water and simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes or until you see the gravy turn very thick.

Switch off the heat and spoon steak and kidney mix in a bowl and allow to cool completely until cold.

Use this filling to make a big pie or individual pies shaped and size to your liking and egg wash your pastry and bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated oven on 200 °C or until golden brown.

Tip - I only add a pinch of salt, the bisto has its own salt. Remove cloves before filling the pie.

Delicious!

Curried Mince & Pea Pies

Rhodes

Ingredients

30 ml (2 T) sunflower oil

600 g beef mince

1 brown onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

10 ml (2 t) mild curry powder

5 ml (1 t) turmeric

5 ml (1 t) garam masala

1 x 410 g can Rhodes Processed Peas, drained

salt and freshly ground black pepper

500 g ready-made puff pastry

for brushing: 1 egg, lightly whisked

Method

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan pan and add the beef mince.

Fry until the beef mince is almost cooked.

Drain off any excess fat and set aside.

Add the onion to the same pan and fry until the soft and translucent.

Add the garlic and the spices and fry for a few minutes more.

Return the mince to the pan and mix well.

Continue to cook until the mince is cooked through and the flavours well blended.

Add the Rhodes Processed Peas and cook until heated through.

Season to taste and set aside to cool.

Roll out the puff pastry and line the bottoms of 6 foil pie dishes with pastry.

Brush the bottom and the edges with the egg.

Evenly fill all 6 pies with the curried mince.

Cut 6 round pastry tops for the pies and lightly secure the tops to the outer edges of the pie bottoms.

Brush with egg.

Bake the pies in an oven preheated to 180˚C for 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Best Apple Pie

Capsicum Culinary Studio

Ingredients

Pre-bought flaky pastry, or make your own (recipe below), chilled

7 to 8 Granny Smith apples

100g light brown sugar

100g white sugar

¼ tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cardamom

¼ tsp ground allspice

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp butter

1 egg

Method

Heat oven to 200°C.

To make apple filling: Peel then cut apples in half.

Remove cores and slice apple halves into thin 6mm slices.

Place apple slices into a large bowl.

Scatter both sugars, salt and spices over the apples and toss them with your hands, coating the apple slices as much as possible.

Set aside for 1 hour at room temperature.

To prepare pie crust: Roll out half of pie dough on a lightly-floured work surface.

To prevent the dough from sticking and to ensure uniform thickness, roll from the centre of the dough outwards and keep lifting up and turning the dough a quarter turn as you roll. Check for the correct size by inverting the pie dish over the dough. The dough should be about 3cm to 5cm larger than the dish.

Being careful not to stretch it, place the dough into the pie dish and trim overhanging dough to within 20mm of the edge of the dish.

Refrigerate while you make the pie filling.

Roll out the second half of dough to a similar size as before and transfer it to a large parchment-lined baking sheet.

Keep this in the fridge until needed.

Toss cornstarch with the apples.

Transfer the apples into the prepared bottom crust using your hands to really pack them down into the pie.

Fill the pie until apples are at the same height as the edge of the pie crust.

Pour the juices that have accumulated at the bottom of the bowl over the apples. About ½-¾ cup will suffice.

Cut a tablespoon of butter into 8 or so small pieces and dot them over the pie.

For a double crust pie, place the second pie dough round over the filling or cut it into strips and lattice the top.

If you are not adding a lattice crust but adding the top crust in one piece, use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to vent.

Trim excess dough from the top crust or lattice strips and fold the overhang underneath itself, forming a thick rim. Press it together or crimp it with your fingers or use a fork.

Whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water and use as an egg wash by lightly brushing the top crust. This adds shine and helps the crust brown.

Place the prepared pie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 75 minutes, turning a few times for even browning.

Apple pie is done when the juices are bubbling through the vents of the top crust or lattice. Piercing the pie is also a nice indication of how soft the apples are. If they feel too crunchy, the pie needs more time.

Be sure to cool the pie, without slicing into it, for at least 1 hour, preferably longer. Keep in mind that the pie filling does not fully thicken until it is completely cooled. So, for the absolute best results, cool the pie to room temperature, and then place it into the refrigerator for an hour or two.

Chef's notes: If you notice that the pie crust is browning too quickly, mould a large piece of foil over a bowl that’s been placed upside down to make a foil dome. Place the foil dome over the pie for the remaining bake time. This will slow the browning.

Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Pie

Capsicum Culinary Studio

Ingredients

350g savoury crackers (such as Salticrax)

6 tbls light brown sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

170g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

160g light brown sugar

1 large egg

270g smooth peanut butter

1 pinch flaky salt, plus more for sprinkling

Method

To make the pie crust: add the crackers to a big bowl and crush with your hands. They should be finely crushed, but not like flour. Add the brown sugar and salt and stir to combine. Add the butter and knead until the mixture is well combined.

Place the mixture into a 23cm pie pan and use your hands to pat into a compact crust.

Stick in the freezer until it’s frozen and firm (at least 20 minutes.)

While the crust is freezing, heat the oven to 180°C and make the peanut butter filling.

Combine the brown sugar and egg in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter with a rubber spatula until totally smooth.

Add the filling to the frozen crust. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly, so it totally fills the pie. Sprinkle generously with flaky salt.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the crust is golden brown, and the peanut butter filling is starting to brown.

Let the pie cool at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours before serving. (You can cover it with foil after a few hours, or whenever it’s cool to the touch.)

Chef's note: If you want to make the crust in advance, wait until it’s firm, wrap it well with foil and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Homemade Pastry

325g all-purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp sugar

230g very cold unsalted butter cut into cubes

4 to 8 tbsp ice water

Method

Add 1½ cups of flour as well as the salt and sugar to a food processor. Pulse 2 to 3 times until combined.

Scatter butter cubes over flour and process until a dough or paste begins to form, about 15 seconds. (There should be no uncoated flour).

Scrape bowl, redistribute the flour-butter mixture then add remaining 1 cup of flour. Pulse 4 to 5 times until flour is evenly distributed. (Dough should look broken up and a little crumbly).

Transfer to a medium bowl then sprinkle ice water over mixture — start with 4 tablespoons and add from there. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough falls apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water and continue to press until dough comes together.

Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut ball in half then form each half into discs. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months (just thaw it overnight in the fridge before using).

megan.baadjies@inl.co.za