IN SEASON A slice of pie... Words written by Christine McFadden
Pies come in many forms: single bottom crust, single top crust, double crust, lattice-topped, deep dish, free- standing, gargantuan pies for feeding crowds, ‘hand’ pies, turnovers and bite- sized mini pies. Fillings are equally motley. Fish
pie and apple pie are iconic, but there are also legendary pies fi lled with peacocks, thrushes or escaping blackbirds. Stargazey pie has a circle of disconcerting fi sh heads protruded from the top crust. Eel Pie Island on London’s River T ames is famous for its pies fi lled with eels from the river. T ough pies are enjoyed throughout
the world, they originated in Central and Eastern Europe where the necessary raw materials were easily found: wood for fuel, grains for fl our and animals for fat. T e Eastern Mediterranean is home to delicious little savoury pies – squares, triangles,
crescents, tubes, cornets – expertly made with dough ranging from paper-thin fi lo to multi-layered puff . Italy boasts pasticci – magnifi cent creations with rich savoury fi llings dating back to the Renaissance. T ere is also torte which may refer to a cake or a pie. Torte di verdura – green vegetable pies – are especially popular at Easter. Spain’s favourite pie is the empanada – a savoury turnover baked or deep-fried until crisp and golden. Here in the UK, we have the West
Country’s famous Cornish pasty, while the Midlands boasts the Melton Mowbray pork pie and the intriguing gala pie – a long loaf-shaped pork pie with a seemingly endless hard-boiled egg in the middle. How it gets there is another story.
Christine’s Perfect Pastry
“Pastry is crucial packaging for pies. Making your own is simpler than you think and deeply satisfying once you understand what’s going on. Regardless of type, pastry generally contains the same core ingredients: fl our, fat, liquid (either water or dairy product), perhaps eggs, an acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, sugar and/or salt. It’s the alchemy between them, the choice and balance of fat, fl our and liquid, the method and sequence of mixing, that determines the particular character of a dough.”
❤ Shortcrust – crisp crumbly ‘short’ texture. Made with half fat to fl our. Lard sometimes added for extra crispness.
❤ Rich shortcrust – similar to shortcrust but with an egg added for colour and richness.
❤ Hot water crust – made with lard and fl our plus boiling water. Chewy, but crisp texture. Used for free-standing moulded pies.
❤ Flaky, puff and rough puff – crisp layered pastry. The diff erence between them is the way butter is added. Puff : butter added in one lump Flaky: butter dotted over the rolled- out dough Rough puff : butter mixed into the dough at the beginning
10 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
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