Recipe | Pepper, aubergine & feta pithivier

This is a Mediterranean take on pie – a delicate puff pastry pithivier filled with peppers, aubergines and feta. It doesn’t need a hefty potato mash, but sweet potato and olive oil mash suits it very well indeed.

Makes 2
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and sliced
4 sweet peppers, sliced
1 aubergine, diced
50g feta cheese, crumbled
1 sheet all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Gently heat half the olive oil in a pan and add the onions and peppers. Season and cook gently for at least 30 mins, stirring as you go, until the peppers are collapsed and slippery.
2 In the meantime, heat the rest of the oil gently in another pan, tip in the aubergine, and season; then cook until it is soft and has lost all ‘bounce’. Remove both pans from the heat until you are ready to fill your pithiviers.
3 Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/ Gas 6. Flour your work surface and roll out the pastry until it is around half the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out two circles, around 15cm across, and two more, around 17cm across.
4 Lay baking parchment onto a baking tray and then place the smaller circles on it. Divide the pepper and onion mixture between them, placing it centrally, and then do the same with the aubergine. Sprinkle feta on top.
5 Paint egg around the exposed edge of the pastry, then drape the larger circle of pastry over the mound and trim any excess. Paint egg all over the mound, then use a sharp knife to make a pattern on top. A small hole at the top will help steam to escape.
6 Bake for 35–45 mins, or until the pastry is crisp and browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This recipe was first published in issue 69 of The Simple Things. National Pie Week runs from 3-9 March. To mark it, we have collated some of favourite Simple Things pies from across the years in our March issue. Pick up a copy to find the other recipes, which include Chicken & Mushroom Pie, Spanakopita, Fish Pie with Crunchy Salmon & Leek Topping, Picnic Pie and Pork & Egg Lattice Pie.

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Recipe | Portugese custard tarts (Pastéis de nata)

Easy to make and beyond delicious, these little delights are great for breakfast, elevenses, afternoon tea – or any time of day at all, really

Portugese custard tarts (Pastéis de nata)

Makes 12

Butter, for greasing
110g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
3 egg yolks
225ml double cream
175ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
Ground cinnamon, for dusting
Icing sugar, for dusting

1 Grease a 12-hole muffin tin (unless using a non-stick tin). In a saucepan, mix together the caster sugar, cornflour and egg yolks. Gradually add the cream and milk, whisking until smoothish. Don’t worry about lumps – they will whisk out.

2 Stir over a medium heat until the mixture becomes very thick and, just before it comes to the boil, stop whisking, remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and tip into a bowl.

3 Cover with cling film directly on the custard to prevent a skin forming. Leave to cool.

4 Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Unroll the pastry with the long edge closest to you (landscape format), dust with a little cinnamon and cut in half vertically. Put one piece on top of the other and, starting from the bottom (shortest) edge, tightly roll up the pastry pieces into a sausage shape.

5 Slice into 12 evenly sized discs. Use a rolling pin or your fingers to flatten out the discs into thin circles. Press into a muffin tin and spoon in the cold custard.

6 Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 mins until the pastry is golden and the custard is puffed up, bubbling and golden in parts. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins (they will shrink down as they cool) before removing. Caramelise the tops with a cook’s blowtorch if they’re not as browned as you’d like. Sometimes they are, sometimes they’re not!

7 Serve either warm or at room temperature with a last-minute dusting of icing sugar and ground cinnamon.

Cook’s note: Get ahead by making the custard (in steps 1, 2 and 3) up to three days ahead and keeping in the fridge. You can prepare as far as the end of step 5 any time on the day of baking. The tarts can also be baked several days ahead and eaten warmed through or simply served at room temperature.

Recipe from The Get-Ahead Cook by Jane Lovett (Apicius Publishing)

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Recipe | Chocolate croissant tearer-sharer

If you’re partial to a pain au chocolat, you’ll love this effortless version, ideal for feeding the troops on a long weekend. This recipe uses plant-based milk and cream, but you can, of course, use dairy. 

Chocolate croissant tearer-sharer

Serves 4–6
100g dark chocolate
21⁄2 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust
2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
2 tbsp plant-based milk
Handful each of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
Oat or soy cream, to serve

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4. Break up 75g of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of barely simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water), stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Mix in the icing sugar, until lump-free, then remove the pan from the heat.
2 Lay one sheet of pastry on a lined baking sheet. Pour over most of the melted chocolate and spread it out, leaving a 2cm gap around the edges. Lay the second sheet of pastry flush on top (you may need help with this bit). Gently press the two sheets of pastry together all the way round the edges.
3 With a sharp knife, make four evenly spaced 5cm cuts into the long edges of the pastry. You should be left with a 3cm strip of pastry down the middle with five sections of pastry either side. 
4 Cut the remaining chocolate into 10 chunks and pop one chunk in the middle of each section of pastry. Roll to encase the chocolate, taking care not to cover the middle section, and press to seal. Brush with the milk and bake for 30–35 mins until golden and crisp.
5 Scatter the berries over the middle section, drizzle over the reserved melted chocolate, and dust with icing sugar. Serve hot, with cream for pouring.

Recipe from Bosh! by Henry Firth & Ian Theasby (HQ HarperCollins)

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Recipe | Börek

Eke out summer with these Turkish spinach and feta pastries. Rolled in this unusual way they look even more impressive

Makes 6–8
Oil, for greasing and brushing
350g/12oz fresh spinach or Swiss chard leaves, rinsed
Good handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
100g feta cheese, crumbled
1⁄4 tsp salt
1 x 350g packet of filo pastry

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Oil a shallow, round cake tin, approx 30cm in diameter.

2 Lightly cook the spinach and parsley in a lidded pan with just the water that is left clinging to the leaves after washing. When the leaves have wilted, drain them through a sieve and leave them to cool. When they are cool to the touch, give them a good squeeze to get rid of any remaining water. Once completely cold, mix them with the feta and salt and set aside.

3 Unroll a sheet of filo pastry. Spoon a little of the spinach mixture down one long edge, then roll it up like a cigar. If it splits or seems a little fragile, roll another sheet of filo around it. (Take care not to do this too tightly or it will split again during the cooking process.) Coil the cigar into a ‘snail’ shape.

4 Repeat this process until you have made 6–8 ‘snails’, then arrange them neatly (sides touching) in the prepared pan. Brush with oil and bake for 40 mins or until golden brown. 

Cook’s note: You can freeze the cooked greens and parsley mixture if you have a glut of fresh veg and use it throughout the year.

Recipe from The Great Dixter Cookbook by Aaron Bertelsen (Phaidon Press).

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Recipe | Picnic Pies

These mini pork and apple pies are portable pockets for flavour, just right for a bank holiday picnic

Picnic Pies

Serves 6
220g pork loin, diced
110g pork belly, diced
3 rashers back bacon, diced
30g chicken livers
1 small onion, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Pinch of ground mace or nutmeg
1 red apple, peeled, cored and diced

for the pie crust
310g plain flour, plus extra to dust
11⁄2 tsp salt
50g vegetable shortening (such as Trex) 

for the glaze
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk

you will need
1 jam jar (approx 7cm diameter)
Kitchen twine
6 strips of wax paper, about 30x8cm each

1 Preheat oven to 190C/Fan 170C/375F. Put the pork loin, pork belly, bacon and chicken livers in a food processor and blitz to mince. Transfer to a bowl. Mix in onion, sage, garlic and mace, and season to taste.
2 To make the pie crust, sift flour and salt in
a bowl. Put the shortening and 120ml water into a saucepan and heat gently until the fat melts and the water comes to a boil. Pour the
liquid into the flour and, using a wooden spoon, gently bring together into a soft dough. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, knead lightly until smooth.
3 Divide dough into eight pieces and roll six of them into 12cm disks. Invert them, one at a time over an upturned jam jar. Wrap a strip of wax paper around the outside, and tie round the middle with twine (as above).
4 Turn the whole thing over so the dough sits flat. Carefully work the jar up out of the pie crust (you may need to slip a palette knife down between dough and jar). Divide pork filling into six portions and put one portion in each pie. Put the diced apple on top.
5 Roll out the last two pieces of dough and, with a cookie cutter, cut three disks from each piece the same size as the tops of the pies. Put a disk on each pie, press edges to seal, then turn edges in and over to form a rim. 6 Brush the pies with egg-milk glaze. Pierce each top with a fork to let the steam escape. On a large baking sheet, bake for 45–50 mins, or until golden. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool, and serve cold.

Recipe by Louise Pickford from Traditional Pub Grub (Ryland Peters & Small)

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Recipe: Ricotta and tomato tart

Turn May’s bank holidays into a reason to invite friends over, to linger over cocktails, moreish nibbles, a savoury tart and salad. The trick is not to plan anything too formal – just a chance to enjoy good company and the garden in its ready-for-summer prime. Dust down the garden furniture, hang the fairy lights and let the sun set on your holiday-at-home weekend in style.

Ricotta and tomato tart

Tangy mustard and sweet tomatoes with creamy cheese – the vibrant colours of the veg in this line-up celebrate spring’s fresh flavours

Serves 6
1 readymade sheet puff pastry
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
250g ricotta
5 small tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Lightly grease a tart dish with butter and line with the puff pastry, leaving an overhang to allow for shrinkage. Leave to rest in the fridge for 20 mins.
2 Spread the mustard over the pastry base then top with ricotta. Slice the tomatoes and dot them on top of the cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3 Bake for 35 mins until the pastry is cooked and the filling firm to touch. Leave to cool in the dish for a couple of mins before turning out to cool on a wire rack. Serve hot or cold.

Turn to page 24 of May’s The Simple Things for more of our long weekend get together menu, including Blueberry & thyme gin & tonic, Pear & blue cheese crostini, Roasted broccoli & quinoa, Parmesan crackers, Caramelised onions, Grape & raisin salad with honey mustard dressing and Raspberry & pistachio pavlovas.

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Recipe: Lemon meringue pie

A classic lemon meringue pie is a joy. Zingy lemon curd sitting inside a buttery, crumbly pastry case, all covered with a blanket of fluffy, white meringue. This recipe is from Jasper, courtesy of his mum, Julia.

Serves 4–6
FOR THE PASTRY
225g plain flour
1⁄2 tbsp caster sugar
170g butter, chilled and diced
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 tbsp water

FOR THE LEMON CURD
110g butter
170g caster sugar
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
3 eggs, beaten

FOR THE MERINGUE
3 egg whites
150g caster sugar

1 To make the pastry, place flour and sugar in a bowl and rub in the cold butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. 
2 Add half the beaten egg yolk and water and bring pastry together with your hands. Add a little more water if it needs it. Don’t knead, but shape into a round, 2cm thick. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 30 mins or up to 24 hours. You can also make the pastry in a food processor. If you have any egg wash left, reserve it for brushing over the pastry after the blind baking. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F).
3 Take a 23cm metal tart tin with removable sides. Put pastry between 2 sheets (larger than your tart tin) of cling film. Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it is 3mm thick. Make sure to keep it round, and large enough
to line the base and sides of the tin.
4 Removing just the top layer of cling film, place the pastry upside down (cling film side up) into the tart tin (no need to flour or grease the tin). Press the pastry into the edges, cling film still attached and, using your thumb, ‘cut’ the pastry on the edge of the tin. It should look quite neat. If there are any holes or gaps, patch with some spare pastry. Remove the cling film and chill the pastry case in the fridge for 15 mins or the freezer for 5 mins.
5 Bake blind by lining the pastry with baking parchment, fill with baking beans or dried pulses and bake for 20–25 mins in the oven until the pastry feels just dry to the touch on the base. Remove the paper and beans, brush with a little egg yolk and water and return to oven for 3 mins. Again, if there are any little holes or cracks in the pastry, just patch it up with any leftover raw pastry as the filling will leak out of these in the oven if not patched up. Once the pastry is baked blind, take out of the oven and set aside in the tin to cool. This can be easily made a day in advance and covered until you need it. Leave the oven on at the same temperature.
6 To make the lemon curd, over a very low heat melt the butter with the sugar, lemon zest and strained juice. Add the beaten eggs and stir carefully over a low heat until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of a spoon, holding the mark that your finger makes when you draw a line through it. Take off the heat and pour into a bowl to cool. Scoop the cooled lemon curd into the cooled pastry shell and set aside.
7 For the meringue, put the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl and, using an electric whisk, beat until they hold stiff peaks. Next, add 1 tbsp of the sugar and continue to whisk until stiff, then fold in the remaining sugar. Spread the meringue over the lemon curd to fill the tart tin, using the back of a spoon to lift up little snowy meringue peaks all over the top.
8 Place the pie in the oven and bake for 10 mins until deep golden on top. Remove from oven and leave to stand for 5 mins before transferring from the tin to a serving plate.

Taken from Recipes from My Mother by Rachel Allen (Harper Collins) 

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Recipe: Rustic autumnal fruit tart

This is the simplest tart you can make. Just bake a rustic circle or square of puff pastry. Pile on some fruit such as grapes, raspberries, figs, slices of apple or pear; gloss with a little honey or maple syrup and bake till the fruit’s just softened. A stunning showstopper

Rustic autumnal fruit tart

Serves 6-8

A rectangle of puff pastry (for homemade see below)
2 tbsp melted butter
5-6 handfuls of autumnal fruits
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/400F. Cut a piece of greaseproof paper roughly the size of a baking tray. Lightly dust with flour. Roll your pastry out on the paper till 1cm-thick and transfer to the baking tray. 

2 Use the tip of a knife to score the pastry 2-3cm from the edge, all the way around, which effectively marks the sides of your tart. Brush with the melted butter. Bake for 15-20 mins or till golden.

3 Arrange your fruits on the tart, scattering them in an even layer. Drizzle honey or maple syrup over the top. Return to the oven for 10-15 mins or till the fruits are just softened.
 

Rough puff pastry

If you can’t find a good, all-butter puff pastry, this recipe is a dream and easy to whip up, too

Makes enough for 1 larger or 2 smaller pies

150g plain white flour
pinch sea salt
¼ tsp baking powder
75g unsalted butter, fridge cold
4-5 tbsp cold water

1 Mix the flour, salt and baking powder. Cut the butter into 1-2cm cubes. Bit by bit add them to the flour, coating the butter in flour as you add them. Rub the butter into the flour till it’s almost at the breadcrumb-like consistency stage. Leave some lumps of butter less rubbed in. It's all part of the masterflan plan.

2 Add enough water to bring it together into a soft, silky (not sticky) dough. Use very cold water so the butter doesn't melt.

3 On a floured surface, pat the dough into a rectangle. Roll until 1-2cm thick.

4 Fold in the sides as if you're folding a letter. Rotate the rectangle 90°. Roll out again. Repeat this five times, ending with a letter-folded piece of dough.

5 Wrap up in a clean tea towel. Refrigerate for 30 mins before rolling out or freeze it for up to a month. 

Turn to page 25 of October's The Simple Things for the full Thanksgiving menu:

Cider & sage turkey
Fresh cranberry sauce
Apple sourdough stuffing

Persian pilaf pumpkin
Rosemary and ginger carrots
Brown butter sweet potato gratin

Deep dish apple pie
Pumpkin pie with hazelnut crust 

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Recipe: Cherry pie

‘No one does fruit pies quite like our cousins across the pond. When I lived in North America, I ate more than my fair share of pie. I couldn’t pass a bakery or coffee shop without being lured in by golden sugared crusts spilling with bubbling, sweet fruit fillings. This is my version of the ubiquitous cherry pie. I use a small heart- shaped cookie cutter to make holes in the top crust, and it always goes down a storm. Eat it for afters with a mug of ‘joe’, like in Twin Peaks.’ - Rosie Birkett

Cherry pie

SERVES 8

for the pastry
2 tbsp granulated sugar
260g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
40g ground almonds pinch of salt
180g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp demerara sugar, for sprinkling

for the filling
100g good-quality black cherry jam
1 tbsp cherry brandy, kirsch or amaretto (optional)
1⁄2 tsp grated nutmeg
1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with 2 tsp cold water
500g fresh black or red cherries, pitted and halved

1 For the pastry, put the sugar, flour, ground almonds, salt and butter in a food processor, and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add 3 tbsp of the egg and 2 tbsp of ice-cold water, and pulse until the mixture starts to clump together into a dough.
2 Divide the dough into two, flatten each portion into discs, wrap each disc in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
3 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/400F and grease a 24cm pie dish. Remove a disc of pastry from the fridge, unwrap it and roll it out on a floured work surface to 3mm thick and about 2cm wider than the dish. Transfer to a floured baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes. Repeat this with the remaining disc of pastry.
4 Heat the jam for the filling in a saucepan with 100ml water, the alcohol (if using), nutmeg and the vanilla extract. When it’s all melted together, add the diluted cornflour, and stir together until smooth and thickened. Add the cherries and gently coat them in the mixture, being careful not to mush them up. Remove from the heat and set aside. 
5 Using a floured rolling pin, transfer one of the chilled pastry sheets to the greased pie dish and drape it across
the dish. Let it sink into the dish, and, holding on to the edges, lift and tuck the pastry into the edges of the dish, all the way round, to line it. Trim off any excess pastry, and lightly prick the base with a fork. Fill the dish with the cherry filling. Use a pastry cutter to cut holes in the remaining pastry sheet, covering an area just smaller than the diameter of the pie dish, leaving a large border intact. Place it
over the pie filling, and fold the edge of the top crust over the edge of the bottom crust, crimping it together with your fingers to seal.
6 Brush the pastry with the remains of the beaten egg and sprinkle over the demerara sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is golden, and then reduce the oven temperature to 180C/Fan 160C/350F, covering the top of the pastry with foil if need be, and bake for a further 35–40 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden and firm. Allow to cool and serve with cream.

Rosie Birkett is a food writer, food stylist and home cook living in Hackney, east London. Her book, A Lot On Her Plate (Hardie Grant) speaks of her love of a good meal and enthusiasm for food generally.

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Recipe: Strawberry and thyme pie

June means sunshine and strawberries. This eye-catching pudding oozes natural berry sweetness and could happily accompany you on a weekend picnic or take centre stage at a midsummer soirée. Strawberries and thyme are good friends and the addition of the herb adds an interesting twist to the simple flavour.  

Strawberry and thyme pie

Serves 8

for the dough
125g plain flour
125g almond flour (or use 250g plain flour in total)
125g butter
pinch of salt
30g icing sugar
cold water, as needed

for the thyme custard
200ml milk
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
a few sprigs fresh thyme
2 egg yolks
30g icing sugar
150g cream cheese

for the topping
500-600g strawberries
fresh thyme leaves 

Make the dough: Work both flours, butter, salt and icing sugar into a smooth dough. If dough is too dry, add a few drops of cold water. Shape into a flat disc and wrap in cling film. Rest in fridge for 1 hour.

Start the thyme custard: Bring the milk to a near boil with vanilla and thyme. Turn off heat and let steep until ready to use.

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F.

2 Dust countertop with flour and pat dough into a thin slab that fits a 22cm pie plate or a pie pan with a removable bottom. Grease the pan and line it with the dough. Leave some overhanging the edge. Carefully press a sheet of parchment paper onto the dough, fill with baking beans and blind bake the crust for 15 mins. Use the parchment paper to lift out the beans. Bake crust for 10 mins more.

3 Let crust cool, then neatly trim the edges. Keep the oven on.

4 Return to the custard. Beat the yolks and icing sugar until light and frothy. Pour into the warm milk through a strainer. Whisk it all and pour back into the pan. While stirring, bring mixture to a near boil and reduce it slightly over low heat. Turn off heat and beat in the cream cheese. Pour the mix into the blind-baked crust and put the pie back in the oven for 15 mins.

5 Allow the pie to cool on a rack for at least 30 mins.

6 Quarter the strawberries and use them to dress the pie.

7 Serve garnished with thyme. 

From Home Baked by Yvette van Boven (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) 

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Recipe: Chicken Balmoral Pie

A pie is a great crowd pleaser and this won ‘Best chicken pie’ in the British Pie Awards 2015

400g puff pastry
75ml oil
25g butter
2 x 150g chicken fillets, boneless and skinless
50g finely chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, crushed
50g sliced white button mushrooms
25g smoked bacon, finely chopped
150ml white wine
25g plain flour for dusting
300ml fresh double cream
Chopped fresh parsley
100g thinly sliced haggis (optional)
1 medium egg
7-inch foil dish
Salt and white pepper

1 Preheat your oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F. Lightly dust the countertop with the flour and roll out the pastry to 3mm thick, cut to size, lay in a pie dish and rest in the fridge for 30 mins. Leave enough pastry spare for the lid and trimmings.
2 Warm oil in a frying pan, then add butter. Put the chicken fillets into pan and cook 8 mins on each side, then lay on a tray to cool.
3 Add chopped onion and garlic for approx 4 mins before adding the mushrooms and smoked bacon. Cook for a further 4 mins. 
4 Add the white wine and reduce by half, then add double cream and reduce until the sauce thickens for 5 mins. Stir in parsley then leave to cool.
5 When chicken and sauce are cool, remove pastry from
fridge and place 2 tbsp of sauce on the base of pastry. Slice the chicken fillets and arrange slices of chicken on base of pie.
6 Add 2 more tbsp of sauce and sprinkle over a small handful of chopped parsley, then arrange haggis, if using, on top.
7 Egg-wash the bottom of the pastry lid and place on top of the pie to seal it in place. Use the trimmings to decorate the top.
8 Egg-wash the pie and leave in fridge to rest for 15 mins. Make three small holes on top to let steam escape. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown.

Pie made by Boghall Butchers in Scotland. The British Pie Awards takes place today, 9 March 2015 in British Pie Week (7-13 March). britishpieawards.co.uk

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From the March issue

Fish pie recipe

Chicken recipes

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