Friday, April 26, 2013

A 5-star pie ^^


Do not be deceived by this simple, rustic looking pie ^^.

I would've loved to make them into dainty little purses or parcels if only I had the skills.. or the delicate hands for it, which I don't ^^||! So it had to be a big happy pie. ^^

I picked this recipe up from mel of melspantrykitchen and nasilemaklover a few weeks back (though I now realize I had come across the recipe in the food&travel magazine earlier, and forgotten about it ^^||). But it was mel's big shout out and "5-star rating" of how delicious this pie is, that I was sold!

I had to make it, pronto! Besides this pie had big pig's name all over it.. spinach, feta, potatoes, cheese.. ooh! ^^ But the omg-hot, "I can barely breathe" weather put a stall to my plans for weeks.. but I finally made it ^^.. and it's a worthy 5-star pie! ^^

5-star Spinach, feta and potato pie (shared by mel and nasilemaklover from food&travel magazine)
~ makes 6 individual pies or a 22-cm round pie

Best shortcrust pastry ever!!! for savories (adapted from the original recipe by Dean Brettschneider)
280g all purpose flour
170g cold butter, diced (I used 125g unsalted lescure+45g salted president ~ could it be because of this?)
2 tbsp cold fresh milk (or this???)

Filling
1 baking potato, diced
200g spinach (use fresh for a nicer outcome.. frozen looks miserable.. guess what I used? ^^||)
100ml cream, or fresh milk (low fat is fine too ^^)
1 egg, beaten
100g cheddar cheese, grated
4 sun-dried tomatoes. sliced thin (optional, I added)
salt and pepper, to taste
a pinch of grated fresh nutmeg, or nutmeg powder

Egg wash
1 egg, beaten + 1 tbsp milk

1. Shortcrust pastry. Blitz or rub the flour with the cold butter till it resembles breadcrumbs. Add milk and mix till the pastry comes together. Press dough into a flat, round shape and chill for 1 hour.

2. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes till cooked, then drain.

3. Wilt the spinach by placing it in a colander and pour boiling water over. Drain and squeeze out all the liquid.

4. In a bowl, mix spinach, potato, cream (or milk), feta, egg, sun-dried tomatoes (if using) and 3/4 cheese together. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

5. Roll out dough to 3mm thick and cut out 6 squares, 13cm x 13cm ^^|| (see nasilemaklover's instructions).. otherwise just use 2/3 dough and roll it out to fit a greased 22-cm tart tin ^^. Put filling into the tart/pie tin. Roll the rest of the dough out and place over filling. Pinch the edges together to seal. Make a few slits on the top pastry for steam to escape while baking. Brush pie generously with egg wash and top/sprinkle with the remaining (1/4) grated cheddar.

6. Bake in a preheated oven of 220C for 30 minutes, or till golden. I baked at 200C for 45 minutes. Leave to cool slightly before slicing.


This pie is really deserving of a 5-star rating! The crust is the best crisp, yet flakiest EVER!!! PERFECTION!!! And the filling is OUTSTANDING too!! WE LOVE IT!!!

You know, it's been a while since big pig went, MMM! THIS IS SO GOOD! SO SO GOOD!!! MMM!!! MMM!!! MMMM!!! It feels so so good to hear that! ^^

p.s. i had to make the crust from scratch, as my very-expired ready made shortcrust pastry couldn't be salvaged! but it's the best thing to happen! ^^ 


9 comments:

Mel said...

Hi hui
Your feta pie looking really gorgeous. Oo..yum. know what, yesterday went shopping and bought feta cheese wanted to make this again for my family here. And since you recommend that the crust is really great, so I guess I have to make it from the scratch instead of using the ready made one. There are so many things I want to cook and make for my family to taste. Just yesterday i make the radish cakefor my mum and she love it.

In fact this few days I was checking on your blog and see what is your next post. Really good to see you make this pies. I am sure my family here will love this very much.

pudgy butterfly said...

I wouldn't have tried this recipe if not for your 5-star recommendation, mel ^^ so thank you! It's a lot of more work than I would've have liked but it's worth every delicious bite!
I'm sure your family will love this pie ^^! And you must make this recipe's crust too.. never mind if you don't have wholemeal flour or suet or shortening.. all purpose flour and butter are good replacements ^^
Since you're cooking and baking so much, don't forget to make the kumquat almond teacakes for your family too.. that's another super-delish treat!

Mel said...

Usually i love to potato and will definitely give it a try if pies have potato filling in it. I will try to make the crust this time....even though had some ready made pastry in the fridge. I try to use butter instead as I am trying to avoid consuming shortening. Much that i want to bake the kumquat teacakes but here you wont be able to find kumquat ...anyway season over. Right now it is persimmon and feijoa in season. My favorite fruits.
Good to hear that KL is more cooling weather now.

pudgy butterfly said...

feijoa sounds exotic, mel ^^ had to google it to see how it looks like.. so can i look forward to persimmon and feijoa posts in the near future? ^^

Chef and Sommelier said...

Hi Hui! First the chiffon cake and now this pie! Looks like you are getting better and better with each bake!!! Keep it going and share with us your creations and joy!

pudgy butterfly said...

Thanks, chef ^^

Lisa Ho said...

Nice one Hui :)
Feta and spinach are perfect pair.

Janine said...

wow this pie looks absolutely delicious! I'm definitely going to try it with fresh spinach :) what kind of spinach must I use btw? the English ones or any type?

hui said...

I reckon the english spinach or por choy, janine ^^ hp you enjoy this pie as much as all of us did ^^