Lancashire Fig Pie Recipes

MIXED NUT 'N' FIG PIE

Steps:

• Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges. Line pastry with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 300°., In a small saucepan, combine figs and water. Cook and stir over low heat until water is absorbed. Remove from the heat; stir in marmalade. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Add the corn syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla and fig mixture; stir in nuts. Pour into crust., Bake at 300° for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until set. Cover edges with foil during the last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack., In a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and marmalade; beat until soft peaks form. Serve with pie. Refrigerate leftovers.

FIG & BLUE CHEESE TART

Steps:

• First make the pastry. Tip the flours into a food processor with ½ tsp salt and the diced butter. Pulse until you can't feel any lumps, then tip in the walnuts. Mix the egg yolks with 3 tbsp cold water, then dribble this into the machine while you pulse again until the pastry comes together. Tip the pastry out onto a floured surface, lightly bring it together into a ball, then roll out and line a deep 20-23cm tart tin with overhang. The pastry may crack, but just patch it back together, then cover and chill for 1 hr.
• To make the filling, melt the remaining butter in a large pan, then add the shallots and soften for 10-15 mins, until golden and squishy. Stir in the thyme for 1 min, then remove from the heat. Beat the eggs in a jug with the crème fraîche and cream. Crumble in the cheese and season with pepper and a small amount of salt.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Blind bake the pastry for 20 mins, remove the baking beans and paper, then bake for a further 15-20 mins until golden and sandy. Reduce the oven temp to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Add the cooled onions to the cream mixture and pour into the case. Sit the fig halves on top, cut side up, sprinkle with some more thyme and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hr-1hr 10 mins until the tart is browning and has a slight wobble - the cheese middle will firm up on sitting. Cool for about 15-20 mins, then remove from tin and serve with a green salad.

GRILLED FIGGY PIES

Steps:

• Warm pie crust to room temperature according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine figs and bourbon; add enough water to cover by 1 in. Cook, covered, over low heat until figs are plump, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat; drain. Cool 15 minutes and pat dry. Cut each fig into quarters. Set aside., In same saucepan over medium-low heat, combine walnuts with 1/4 cup maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is almost evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Spread nuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment; freeze until set, about 10 minutes., Unroll pie crusts. Using a 4-in. round cutter, cut 12 circles, rolling and cutting scraps as necessary. Stir vanilla and remaining 1 Tbsp. maple syrup into mascarpone cheese. Spread scant 1 tablespoon mascarpone mixture over half of each circle to within 1/4 in. of edge; layer with 2 teaspoons maple walnuts and 4 fig pieces. Make an egg wash by whisking egg and water; use to moisten edge of crust. Fold crust over filling; press edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining crust and filling. Brush egg wash over pies. Freeze pies on a parchment-lined baking sheet 10 minutes., Remove from baking sheet. Grill pies, covered, on a well-greased grill rack over medium direct heat until golden brown, 5-7 minutes per side.

LANCASHIRE CHEESE-AND-ONION PIE

Steps:

• Combine the flour and a large pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons butter and the lard, and use your fingers to gently rub the fat into the flour until it has the texture of coarse bread crumbs.
• Mix in just enough ice water to bind the mixture, about 3 tablespoons, and lightly knead the dough until well combined and smooth. When you can mold the mixture into a ball, do so. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes -- or freeze for 10 -- to ease rolling.
• Heat the oven to 350. Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet over low heat. When the butter melts, add the onions, a pinch of salt and the ground white pepper; cook slowly for about 10 minutes, never browning.
• Turn the heat to medium and slowly pour in the water. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid cooks off, about 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and place them on a plate to cool
• Grease the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish and sprinkle a countertop with flour. Unwrap the dough and divide it into two balls, one twice as big as the other. Put them on the surface and sprinkle the tops with flour. Using light pressure, roll each one from the center outward, adding more flour as needed and turning them over once or twice during the process. When the larger ball is roughly 10 inches in diameter, gently move it into the pie dish and press it firmly into the bottom and sides. Prick it all over with a fork.
• Layer the onions and cheese on top of the dough in the dish, then carefully cover with the remaining dough -- it should be about 8 inches in diameter. Press the edges together, gently but firmly, and brush the top and edges with milk. Use a knife to make 3 small incisions in the top of the crust so steam can escape.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is nicely browned and the insides are bubbly, 45 minutes to an hour. Cool a bit before slicing into wedges and serving.

TOFFEE FIG PIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roll the pastry out thinly on a floured surface. Cut out 6 circles using a small saucer (about 11-12cm diameter) and 6 circles about half the size.
• Cut the tops off the figs, squash them down gently with your hands and push a toffee into the centre of each fig. Place a fig in the middle of each large circle of pastry and brush the egg around the pastry border. Brush the top of the fig with a little egg and cover with the smaller circle of pastry. Pull the edges of the larger circle up and pinch to seal them over the fig to make a sort of purse. Place the little pies on a baking sheet. The pies can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.
• Brush with the egg and scatter over the sugar. Bake the pies for 30-40 mins until golden and sticky. Leave to cool for 10 mins and serve hot, so when you break into them you get a pool of toffee fig sauce - perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

FRESH FIG PIE

Steps:

• Peel and slice figs (enough for 3 cups).
• Stir sugar, orange peel, and lemon juice into figs.
• Turn fruit into unbaked pie shell.
• Dot with butter.
• Bake at 450 degrees 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees 25 minutes.

LANCASHIRE FIG PIE

Steps:

• Roll the pastry to 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a deep 8 inch pie plate.
• Cut the stalks off the figs and place fruit in a shallow saucepan with enough water just to cover them, cook over a low heat until tender (fresh figs need 5-15 minutes cooking time, depending on their ripeness; dried figs should be first soaked for 12 hours with a squeeze of lemon juice before being stewed in their soaking liquid).
• Drain the figs and retain 1 ¼ cups of the liquid (top up with hot water if necessary); pour a little of the juice into a basin, add the cornstarch and mix until it resembles a thin smooth cream; gradually add the rest of the liquid, stirring well.
• When mixed return the juice to the saucepan and place over a moderate heat; stir until thickened, then cook for another 2 minutes; mix in the spice, currants and syrup and remove from heat.
• Arrange the figs over the pastry then pour the thickened fig liquid over them, making sure the currants are evenly distributed.
• Bake the pie on the middle shelf of the oven pre-heated to 400F / 200C / gas mark 6 for 30-35 minutes; serve hot or cold with cream or vanilla ice cream.