“New Zealand pies are a thing of national pride — it’s in our DNA. Bakers, chefs and home cooks all over the country are crafting pastry indulgences with no limits.’’
Her love of pies also has no limits; she plans road trips around where the best bakeries are.
“I find myself craving a pie if I haven’t had one for a week.’’
Morgan, who grew up working in her family’s bakery Hillyer’s in Lincoln, Canterbury and went on to train as a chef and work in restaurants and her own delicatessen, realised she was not quite finished with pies after her first book Comfort Cooking: Who Made All the Pies?.
For Morgan, a great pie begins with the pastry so she includes a range of different pastry recipes — sweet (coconut, cinnamon) and savoury (nori, olive oil) — and tips on how to make them.
Then come the fillings, the range including the traditional with a twist fish pie with nori pastry, bacon and egg pie with broad bans, pork belly boil up and sweet treats raspberry coconut meringue pie and chocolate cherry ice cream pie.
In this book, she has also included a chapter on vol-au-vents from pastry to fillings, which make perfect small bites for entertaining alongside hand pies, mini quiches and savouries.
The book
Easy as Pie: A relaxed approach to pastry and pie making by Wendy Morgan, published by Bateman Books, RRP $39.99.
Mushroom tarte Tatin
This tarte Tatin makes a fantastic vegetarian meal with a salad on the side. Rich pastry, meaty mushrooms and sweet onions — it’s a showstopper for the eyes and the palate.
Use a 26cm round ovenproof frying pan
Ingredients
1 quantity rough puff pastry 1 (see corned beef pie)
1 onion, halved and sliced
4 tsp butter
10 portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced (about 67mm)
2 Tbsp sherry
1 tsp honey
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 200˚C fan bake.
On a lightly floured bench, roll the pastry to 4mm thick and use the pan as a measure to cut a round disc.
In the pan you are going to cook the tarte in, saute the onion gently in 1 tsp of the butter until just starting to colour. Set aside.
Working in two batches, cook the mushrooms in the same pan, with a teaspoon of butter, until brown on both sides. Add 1 Tbsp of sherry and continue cooking until it evaporates. Set aside and repeat with the other half of the mushrooms, sherry and a teaspoon of butter then set aside with the first half.
Smear the final teaspoon of butter and honey over the base, and up the sides a little, of the frying pan, then sprinkle the thyme leaves over.
Arrange the mushrooms in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle the onion over and then place the pastry disc on top, tucking it in a little around the edges.
Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Let it sit for a minute or two to settle before carefully flipping upside-down on to a plate.
Corned beef, carrot and cabbage pie
Team this with mashed potatoes and some greens on the side for the most comforting of meals.
Use a 24cm x 16cm pie dish
Ingredients
1 quantity Rough Puff Pastry 1 (see below)
Mustard sauce
300ml cooking broth from corned beef or 300ml chicken stock
300ml cream
40g butter
40g flour
Salt
White pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
Pie
250g baby carrots, sliced in half lengthways
250g cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces
500g cooked corned beef, sliced
1 egg
Caraway seeds to garnish
Method
To make the sauce, warm the stock and cream together in a small saucepan. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and incorporate the flour to make a roux. Add the warm stock and cream to the roux in small amounts, using a whisk to make sure it is well combined before the next addition. When all of the liquid has been added, season with a little salt and pepper, then stir in both of the mustards. Cook for a minute or two until bubbling and shiny. Leave to cool.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil (or more cooking broth from cooking the beef if you have it), plunge in the carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for a further 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C fan bake.
To assemble the pie, smear a good spoonful of the sauce in the bottom of the pie dish. Lay in half of the corned beef, topped off with half of the vegetables and half of the sauce. Then repeat with the other half of everything.
On a lightly floured bench, roll the pastry out to 4mm thick. Lay it over the pie and cut a 2cm overhang right around the edges. I do this with kitchen scissors.
Whisk the egg and egg-wash the top of the pie. Cut a 2cm round hole in the centre of the pie and make some other air holes around with the tip of a sharp knife. Sprinkle with some caraway seeds.
Place the pie on to a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.
Rough Puff Pastry 1
200g high-grade white flour
200g butter, room temperature firm, cut into cubes
Pinch salt
100ml cold water
Method
Place the flour, butter and salt into an electric mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until the flour has coated all of the butter cubes and is starting to break them down a little. Add the water and mix until a rough dough forms. Remove the dough from the mixer, form into a ball, flatten a little, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough out to a rectangle about 35cm x 20cm and fold into thirds. Give the pastry a quarter turn on your bench and roll out to the same size rectangle, then fold into thirds again. Wrap back in cling film and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. Repeat this procedure two more times.
Fish pie with nori puff pastry
A classic fish pie recipe never goes amiss and the addition of the nori in the pastry takes it to another level.
Use a 25cm round pie dish
Ingredients
1 quantity Nori Puff Pastry (see below)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 stick celery, thinly sliced
300g smoked fish
300g fresh white fish, cut into pieces
200g raw prawns, tails removed
250ml milk
250ml cream
25g butter
25g flour
Salt
White pepper
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
½ tsp chopped capers
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg
Method
Place the onion, carrot and celery into a saucepan. Place the seafood on top. Pour over the milk and cream. Bring to a simmer and cook until the fish is just cooked. Use a slotted spoon to remove the fish and vegetables on to a tray to cool. While the fish is cooling, break up the smoked fish, but leave the white fish in pieces and leave the prawns whole.
In another saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Add the warm milk and cream to the roux in stages, using a whisk to make sure it is well combined before the next addition. Once all of the liquid has been added, season with salt and pepper. Cook while stirring for a minute until thick and shiny. Leave to cool.
Once the fish and the sauce have cooled a little, mix them together, along with the eggs, capers and parsley and then chill in the fridge until very cold.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C fan bake.
On a lightly floured bench, roll the pastry out to 4mm thick. Use a 25cm round pie dish as your measure and cut around it.
Fill the pie dish with the seafood filling and lay the pastry on top.
Whisk the egg and egg-wash the top of the pie. Cut a 1cm air hole in the centre of the pie and then some smaller ones around with the tip of a sharp knife. Place the pie onto a baking tray to catch any drips and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling.
Note: Substitute the pastry for mashed potato if you wish.
Nori Puff Pastry
200g high grade white flour
200g butter, room temperature firm, cut into cubes
Pinch salt
1 nori sheet
100ml cold water
Method
Place the flour, butter and salt into an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix until the flour has coated all of the butter cubes and is starting to break them down just a little. Tear the nori into small pieces and add to the mixer, giving it a couple of turns to mix through. Add the water and mix until a rough dough forms.
Remove the dough from the mixer, form into a ball, flatten a little, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. On a lightly floured bench, roll the dough out to a rectangle about 35cm x 20cm, and fold into thirds. Give the pastry a quarter turn on your bench and roll out to the same size rectangle, fold into thirds again. Wrap back in cling film and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Repeat this procedure two more times.
