Bacon and egg pie (pictured above)
Bacon and egg pie is an absolute New Zealand staple. It featured heavily in my youth because my mother is from New Zealand, and this always came on picnics with us, wrapped in newspaper, to keep it hot until lunchtime. Ready-made puff pastry is fine. I eat this simply, with chutney or ketchup, but a salad would help stretch the pie further.
Prep 15 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 3–4
1 small knob butter, for greasing
200g puff pastry
5 eggs
5 rashers back bacon, rinds removed (I like smoked)
Salt and black pepper
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7, and put in a baking tray to heat up (this helps the bottom of the pie crisp up). Grease a 24cm pie plate or cake tin.
Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out a 24cm circle for the base and a slightly smaller one for the top. Line the pie plate with the larger pastry disc, pressing it into the base and up the sides, and draping any excess over the rim.
Crack in the eggs, use the tip of a small knife to pierce each yolk, then season well. ay the bacon on top. Dip a pastry brush into the egg white in the filling and paint the rim of the pie, then paint the top of the other pastry disc and cut a cross in its centre. Carefully lay the lid painted side on top of the filling and press the edges together. Trim off any overhanging pastry, then go round the rim of the pie, pressing with the tines of a fork (or crimp between finger and thumb).
Put the pie on the hot tray, turn down the heat to 180C/350F/gas 4 and bake for about 25 minutes, by which time the eggs should be set, the bacon cooked and the top golden brown. Carefully slide the pie out of its tin and on to a wire rack, so the crisp bottom doesn’t start steaming and go soggy.
Before setting off on your picnic, put it back in the tin and wrap in newspaper.
Chicken, leek and tarragon pie
Perfect picnic fare with crudites and pickles. Hot-water crust pastry is a speedy one to make, and a good one for the repertoire, but if you don’t have time, use shortcrust pastry instead (homemade or shop-bought).
Prep 25 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4-6
1 splash flavourless oil
4 medium leeks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced
1 small bunch tarragon, leaves finely chopped, stalks reserved
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp double cream
1 pinch ground mace
300g skinned, boned chicken thighs, cut into bite-size chunks
4 tbsp breadcrumbs (I favour panko)
2 eggs, 1 separated
250g skinned chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
450g hot-water or shortcrust pastry, homemade or bought in
A splash of milk
Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan on a medium flame and add the leeks, tarragon stalks and a pinch of salt. Leave to soften, stirring now and again, then cover and cook down until super-soft and sweet.
Add the cream and mace, turn up the heat and reduce until there is no liquid left. Leave to cool; discard the stalks.
Whizz the thigh meat to a paste in afood processor. Tip into a bowl with the breadcrumbs, cooled leeks and eggs (reserve a yolk), then season and stir. Put the breast meat in a bowl with the tarragon leaves, zest and juice, and season.
Heat a baking tray in an oven at 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Now for the pastry. Put the flour and a good pinch of salt in a bowl. Put the milk, butter and 100ml water in a pan, bring to a boil and, the moment the butter melts, tip in all the flour and beat until smooth and shiny. (If the mixture doesn’t come together straight away, add a little more hot water.) Set aside to cool. Once the dough is just cool enough to handle, and before it starts to harden, roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured surface into one 20cm and one 18cm disc, each 3mm thick. Line an 18cm loose-based pie tin with the larger piece of pastry. Pile in half the thigh meat mix, then scatter over all the breast meat. Top with the remaining thigh mix and press down. Wet the lip of the pastry lining, put on the lid, and crimp to seal. Glaze with the leftover egg yolk mixed with milk (you’ll use the rest for glazing the sides of the pie).
Bake on the heated tray for 30 minutes, then remove and leave to settle for five minutes. Unclip the tin base, paint the pie’s sides with leftover glaze, then slide it off the tin base directly on to the hot tray and bake for 15 minutes more, until the sides are golden and crisp. Cool on a rack.
Spinach, cream cheese and herb filo pie
A crisp filo pie is always a crowd-pleaser, and this picnic pie is no exception. A few cherry tomatoes would go alongside very well.
Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4
Olive oil
450g small spinach leaves, washed and any large stalks removed
3 eggs
200g cream cheese
½ lemon, juiced
1 pinch chilli flakes
5 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 handful parsley leaves, quite finely chopped
6 sprigs mint, leaves picked and quite finely chopped
1 handful basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped
55g parmesan, grated
Salt and black pepper
30g butter, melted
6 sheets filo pastry
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6. Heat a splash of oil in a large, heavy-based pan, then add the spinach and leave it to collapse and wilt down until it is very soft. Tip into a colander and press down with the back of a ladle to get rid of any excess water.
Beat together the eggs, cream cheese, lemon juice and chilli flakes, then fold in the spring onions, spinach, herbs and all but a tablespoon of parmesan, and season to taste.
Butter a deep, 23cm cake tin and line with four filo sheets, brushing each with a little melted butter and leaving the edges hanging over the sides of the tin.
Spoon in the spinach mixture and spread level, then scatter over the reserved tablespoon of grated parmesan. Fold over the edges of the filo sheets to cover the filling and brush again with butter.
Brush the two remaining filo sheets with butter, scrunch up and arrange on top. Scatter over the poppy and sesame seeds, then bake for 30 minutes, until crisp and golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Apricot and pistachio tart
This beautiful stone fruit is a delicious treat in early summer. The filling is based on a Turkish milk pudding, which has a great consistency for putting inside a tart case and goes beautifully with the fruit.
Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 6
500ml whole milk
50g ground pistachios, plus 15g whole, roughly chopped, to garnish
50g ground almonds
35g ground rice
100ml single cream
1 pinch salt
50g golden caster sugar
A few drops rosewater
24cm blind-baked sweet tart case (homemade or bought in)
12 apricots, washed, halved and stoned
5 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 small knob butter
2 tbsp apple juice, cider or rosé wine
Scald 150ml milk, tip into a food processor with the ground nuts, and whizz for 20 seconds. Mix together the ground rice, cream and a pinch of salt.
Heat the rest of the milk and, once it comes to a simmer, add the ground rice mixture and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until thickened. Stir in the ground nut mix and the sugar, and cook, stirring, until it thickens up again. Once it’s good and thick, take off the heat and beat in the rosewater.
Pour the mix straight into the baked tart case, smooth out, leave to cool and refrigerate. Once cold, the milk mixture will solidify.
Now for the apricot topping. Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6. Put the apricots flesh side up in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the vanilla sugar and dot with butter, then sprinkle with your liquid of choice. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the fruit is just soft and has released some syrupy juices. Arrange the fruit on top of the tart filling, glaze with the fruit syrup, scatter over the chopped pistachios and you’re good to go.
Rosie Sykes is a chef and food writer. Her latest book, The Sunday Night Book, is out now, published by Quadrille.
- Food styling: Tamara Vos. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Pie plates: Falcon Enamelware
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