Free Form Florentine Pie Recipes

SAUSAGE FLORENTINE SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook sausage, crumbling meat, until no longer pink, 5-6 minutes; drain. Stir in tomatoes, spinach and 2 cups cheese., Pour sausage mixture into a greased 11x7-in. baking dish; top evenly with mashed potatoes. Bake 20 minutes; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and top begins to brown, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

FREE-FORM FLORENTINE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, then drain and thoroughly squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Mix with the ricotta, nutmeg and plenty of seasoning.
• Lay the pastry on a baking sheet and pinch up the edges to form a lip all round. Prick the base all over with a fork, so the pastry doesn't puff up too much. Bake for 15 mins or until the pastry is light brown.
• Remove from oven and press the pastry down if it has puffed up. Pile in the spinach mix, leaving four clear areas for the eggs to go into. Carefully crack an egg into each space. Season and pop back in the oven for a further 10-15 mins until the white is set and yolk is still a little runny, or to your taste.

FREE-FORM FRUIT AND NUT PIES

Steps:

• Toast all the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, until evenly brown and fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cool.
• Pulse the 3/4 cup cool pine nuts and sugar in a food processor until finely ground, about 15 times. Add the flour, cornmeal, salt, and butter and pulse until combined, about 10 more times. Add the egg and pulse until mixture comes together in a soft dough, about 5 times.
• Lay out an 8 by 11-inch sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Divide dough equally into 6 balls and place on the paper, leaving at least 4 inches between each. Press down lightly to make even disks, and cover with another sheet of paper. With a rolling pin lightly roll over the entire sheet to make rounds about 5 inches in diameter. Slide paper onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
• Remove top sheet of paper and cut the parchment into 6 squares (around the dough circles). Place 2 heaping tablespoons of jam on each circle and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon over the crust, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border around the edges. Fold and loosely pleat the dough over the edge of the jam, to make a rustic free-form pie. (Use the edge of the parchment or a bench scraper to lift the edges of dough over; it's easier that way. See photo.) Repeat with the remaining disks.
• Whisk the egg yolk with a teaspoon of water and brush over the edges of the crusts with it. Sprinkle remaining pine nuts onto the egg wash. Refrigerate pies for 30 minutes.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Bake pies until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes before transferring with the paper onto a rack to cool.
• Serve warm or at room temperature, with ice cream, whipped cream or yogurt, if desired.

SHRIMP FLORENTINE PIE

Steps:

• Cook fettuccine as directed on its box (around 10 minutes, or til firm yet tender). Let drain.
• Add Parmesan cheese and butter, stirring until the butter has melted. Beat four of your eggs and stir into the buttered pasta.
• Spread the pasta mixture along the bottom and sides of a well-greased 13" x 9" baking pan, as though creating a "crust".
• Beat your remaining eggs in a large bowl, adding spinach, ricotta, chopped onions and mustard.
• Fold in the shrimp and mozzarella. Spoon mixture into your fettuccine crust.
• Bake at 375º for 45 minutes or until adequately hot.