Find comfort in a slice of humble pie
Whether it’s chicken and leek, beef and steak or apple and cinnamon, this crisp golden circle is one of the most comforting of meals
Who ate all the pies, I ask myself? The humble pie is harder to find than a parking space at The Dubai Mall. I’ve searched ‘the best pies in Dubai’ and the results were a tad disappointing. The crisp golden circle can be the most comforting of meals — whether it’s chicken and leek, beef and steak or apple and cinnamon, they are all winners to me.
There have been lots of discussion as to what a ‘real pie’ is, so let me explain a few things:
A filled pie has a pastry base and an open top, often filled with stewed fruits, sometimes partially covered with a lattice of pastry strips.
A top crust has the filling in the bottom of the dish and is covered with a single sheet of pastry, usually a savoury filling.
A two crust pie, (my personal favourite) is where the dish is lined with pastry and topped with a second layer, so the filling is enclosed in as pastry shell. All of the above are made with short crust pastry.
I have made all three pies and I’m often asked how I get the pies to look so golden and crispy. It’s no secret, I buy the pastry. Shop bought, ready rolled is perfectly acceptable, otherwise why would supermarkets stock it? I love that manufactures have gotten wise and now sell round sheets to minimise waste. However, I draw the line at buying mashed potato or pre-spiralised vegetables.
Historians trace the pie’s origins to the Greeks, who are thought to be the originators of the pastry shell, which they made by combining water with flour. So not much has changed, it’s just evolved, in all shapes and sizes.
A favourite place to visit when I’m in London is Square Pie bakery. It boasts over 150 pies.
Frustrated by the lack of pastry action in Dubai, I decided to grab some short crust sheets and make my own fast, round pie. Sandwiching leftovers between two pastry sheets is a good way to reuse leftover ingredients. I had some leftover cooked chicken, and after a good rummage in the fridge I came across a couple of leeks, onions and a tub of cooking cream.
With a few extra cupboard staples, I set about feeding my pie needs.
First, preheat the oven to 180 degrees, grease a deep tin, line with a sheet of pastry allowing some to overhang. Set to one side.
Next, saute an onion and a chopped leek with some garlic, season it, then add 300ml cooking cream with 2 tsp of dried tarragon.
Then add four cups of cubed cooked chicken and simmer for five minutes. Meanwhile, mix 1 tbsp of flour with a little cold water; stir into the sauce until it thickens. Pour the mixture into a lined tin, cover with a second pastry sheet, pinch the edges to seal, glaze with a beaten egg, pierce a hole in the centre then bake for 45-50 minutes.
Everyone loves a pie; sweet or savoury, you can’t go wrong. Appreciating the rising temps across the region, a freshly baked, crusty pie may not be the ideal meal in the heat. So after some experimenting, I decided to change it more by making a vegetarian two crust pie, with a lattice top.
Healthy-ish, it’s full of vegetables and can be eaten hot or cold. I’m a long way from having 150 pies on my menu, but my pies will remain round, deep, and widely available.