Saturday, January 13, 2007

A twisty tale of 2 pies


It was cold and snowing outside, the kids were napping, and except for the furnace going, there was not a sound in the house. It was a good time to make some flaky pie crust today. I made 2 batches from a recipe in Bon Appetit. Then I had to decide on what to make for dinner, and after staring into the fridge for what seemed like eternity (it was a good thing that the door alarm was on!), I settled on making Shephard's Pie with a flaky crust twist. This is not the usual shephard's pie I made before. Kind of like chicken pot pie meets shepherd's pie, I thought! And while that was in the oven, I made a pumpkin pie with the remaining flaky pie crust. Hence the twisty tale of 2 pies!

Vv's Shepherd's Pie
1 cup unsalted chicken broth
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup tater tots
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey breasts
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/4 cup unsalted chicken broth

Preheat oven at 400.
In a pot, bring unsalted chicken broth, onions, carrots and tater tots to a boil. Cook carrots until tender but still firm, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; set aside.
Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground turkey breasts and cook until well browned. Pour off excess liquid if any, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup and unsalted chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Spread the cooked ground turkey breasts in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Pour carrot mixture over it. Stir and add shredded cheese and more chicken broth if needed. Place flaky pie crust over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Tip: For a crispier crust, I have tried cutting the pie crust into squares, and baking it separately. Place on top of individual bowls of shepherd's pie before serving. Nice presentation too!

Flaky pie crust recipe from Bon Appetit:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until dough is firm enough to roll out, about 30 minutes.
Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold overhang under. Crimp edges decoratively. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)


Pie recipe from Bon Appetit:
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup whipping cream
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons
(1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1
/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt


Whipped cream
1 cup chilled whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For pie:
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk pumpkin, maple syrup, whipping cream, eggs, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in large bowl to blend well.Pour pumpkin mixture into prepared pie crust. Bake until filling is just set in center and crust is golden, about 1 hour. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Cover pie and refrigerate until cold. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)For whipped cream: Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup chilled whipping cream, 3 tablespoons powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in large bowl until soft peaks form.Serve pie cold or at room temperature with whipped cream.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is interesting. The American version of Shapherds pie?

Shepherds pie came about because shepherds used to have a lot of left over lamb after cooking and the cheapest meal for them was to use the left over lamb to make a meal thus turning it into shepherds pie. The topping is never crust but mashed potatoes as it fills the shepherd and his family up easily.

Cottage pie is like shepherds pie except we use beef instead of lamb.

So, over here when you order shepherds pie in a pub, you assume it comes with mashed potatoes on top.:)

I will try your recipe. Looks very good.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

hi dr ve thru,
yes, I have made the original shepherd's pie before using garlic mashed potatoes (my version). Just wanted to try it with pastry crust this time instead.:) When you order shepherd's pie here, it comes with mashed potatoes too!
Cottage pie when you use beef uh?Now, I wonder what kind of pie you would call it when it comes with ground turkey? :)