Picnic Pie Recipes

PICNIC PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Peel and finely slice the garlic, pick and finely chop the rosemary leaves, discarding the stalks. Peel and slice the onions, and slice the aubergines and courgettes lengthways, roughly 5mm thick.
• Peel and cut the squash into 5mm slices, then place on an oven tray, season and drizzle over 3 tablespoons of oil. Roast on the top shelf of the oven for 35 minutes, or until soft, adding the garlic and rosemary after 20 minutes.
• Put the whole peppers on a second tray and place on the lower shelf of the oven for 35 minutes, or until blackened. Tip them into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Peel and discard the skins of the peppers, deseed, then slice the flesh into large pieces. Season, then place in a colander to drain.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium heat and sweat the onions for 10 to 12 minutes, or until just caramelised. Stir in the balsamic and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Place a griddle pan over a medium-high heat. Brush the aubergine and courgette slices with oil and place on the hot griddle for 5 minutes, until soft and lightly charred (do this in batches). Turn and season them halfway through, then transfer to a plate. Set aside.
• Fill and boil the kettle. Put the spinach in a colander and pour over the boiling water to wilt it. Let it cool, then squeeze it dry, chop it up and pop it into a bowl.
• Add the ricotta to the spinach, then finely grate in the lemon zest and half the Parmesan. Season, stir to combine and set aside.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC/350°F/gas 4 and grease and flour a 23cm spring-form cake tin.
• On a floured surface, roll out 420g of the pastry, so it fits the base and sides of the tin. Carefully press the pastry into the tin, leaving a little overhang, and trim off any excess.
• Pick the basil leaves. Sprinkle half the basil and half of the remaining Parmesan over the pastry base, then layer up the veg. Begin with the courgettes and aubergines followed by a layer of the peppers, then the spinach. Spoon over the squash and onions, dot over pieces of the goat's cheese, then scatter on the rest of the basil and Parmesan.
• Beat and brush the egg around the edge of the pie. Roll out the rest of the pastry, place it on top and crimp the edges with your fingers to seal. Poke a hole in the pastry top and brush with the beaten egg.
• Bake the pie in the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden, covering the top with kitchen foil for the last 10 minutes if it looks too dark.
• Leave the pie to cool in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then take it out of the tin to cool completely. Serve hot or cold.

PICNIC PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Butter 2 x 20cm springform tins or deep, loose-based tart tins. Cut one-third of the pastry off each block. Roll out the smaller pieces of pastry, then cut a circle from each to make the top of the pie - use a tin base as a template. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry from each block and line the tins, leaving a good amount of excess hanging over the edge.
• Mix the sausagemeat with the apples, onions and thyme, and divide into 4 portions. Line each pie with 4 slices of ham and spread 1 tbsp mustard over the ham in each pie. Add a quarter of the sausagemeat to each pie and press down to level it. Add another layer of ham and mustard to each, then the rest of the sausagemeat and level off the tops.
• Put the pastry lids on top and brush with beaten egg. Fold the excess pastry over and press gently. Trim off any wodgy bits to make the lid look as attractive as possible. Brush again with beaten egg and cut a steam hole in the centre. Bake for 50 mins or until a skewer pushed in through the steam hole comes out very hot. Cool in the tin for 15 mins, then release the sides of the tin and cool completely on a rack (still on the bases). Serve cold, cut into wedges with pickles and salad. Or slide off the base and wrap tightly in foil, then cling film and freeze.

PICNIC PECAN PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. , In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs. Stir in corn syrup, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt. Add pecans and mix well; pour into crust. Cover edge loosely with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil; bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH BEEF & POTATO PICNIC PIES - PASTIES

Steps:

• First peel and cut your potatoes into even size chunks & then boil for about 15-20 minutes or until very tender, but not too mushy.
• Drain the potatoes and add the milk, butter, salt & pepper to taste.
• Mash very well with a potato masher or using a hand-held mixer.
• Mash/mix until there are no lumps left.
• The mashed potato should be smooth but fairly firm and not too soft.
• Heat up the oil in a large roomy pan and add the diced onions. Add the garlic if using with the onions.
• Cook the onions for about 15-20 minutes, until soft and golden.
• Remove the onions and set to one side in a large mixing bowl.
• Add the minced beef, adding a bit more oil if necessary. Stir the minced beef all the time to break down any lumps. Cook for about 15 - 20 minutes until cooked & brown all the way through.
• Add the tinned tomatoes, soy sauce, herbs, tomato puree if using and a good twist of freshly ground black pepper. Mix together thoroughly.
• Continue to simmer and add the beef stock - stirring all the time for a further 5 minutes.
• Take off the heat and add the beef mixture to the onions.
• Mix them together thoroughly & then add the mashed potatoes - mix again well.
• Allow to cool slightly.
• Pre-heat the oven to 220C, 425F or gas mark 7.
• Grease 6 x 5" pie tins OR 1 x 9" ovenproof pie plate.
• Sprinkle some flour onto a board and roll out the ready-made puff pastry.
• Taking a saucer or a large cookie cutter, cut out six x bottoms for the pie tins, just slightly larger than the tins. (Invert the pie plate & cut around it for a plate pie.).
• Put the pastry bottoms into the buttered tins (or on to the buttered plate) and fill generously with the beef and potato pie filling.
• Cut out the lid/s and moisten the edges of the bottom pastry case with water; then place the lid/s on top - making sure they reach right up to the edge.
• Crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork or your fingers to make a seal.
• Cut two slits on top of the pies with a knife or scissors.
• Glaze with the beaten egg (or milk) and sprinkle some sea salt.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25- 30 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.
• Serve warm or cold with pickles, chutneys and assorted salads.
• Ideal for picnics, snacks, light lunches & brunch.
• Freezer:.
• To freeze them, pack them with greaseproof paper between each pie in a freezer container. Defrost for at least 6 hours. Can be frozen before the final baking or after being baked. To cook when unbaked, defrost them & then follow the directions above.