You can eat well and support Starship with this unique cookbook, filled with feel-good recipes.
Many of New Zealand's most well known chefs and food writers have contributed recipes to this collection to help raise money for the Starship Foundation. Comfort - Food for sharing contains food that is not just great cooked for your own family, but also as a gift for people you know in need. Lamb and yoghurt pie, green seafood curry, lemon mousse angel cake and black plum brownies are among the delights offered by the likes of Jo Seagar, Lois Daish, Ray McVinnie, Allyson Gofton and Al Brown, among many other members of the New Zealand Guild of Food Writers. The brainchild of the former chairperson of the Friends of Starship, Jude Turner, all royalties from the book will go to the foundation, and, specifically, its campaign to raise money for the rebuilding of Starship's Neuroservices and Medical Specialties wards.
Best Ever Bacon and Egg Pie
By Lauraine Jacobs
400g packet puff pastry, thawed
50g tasty cheese
6 slices farmhouse-style bacon
10 eggs
4-5 Tbsp very finely chopped fresh parsley and basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large firm but ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 Place a flat baking tray in the oven and pre-heat to 210C. The baking tray will heat up and the pie can be placed directly on this which helps to cook the pastry base.
2 Divide the pastry into two, one piece slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger piece and ease into a 24cm fluted pie tin with a removable base.
3 Grate the cheese finely and scatter over the base. Remove the rind from the bacon and cut the slices into small strips. Place these pieces in an even layer over the cheese. Take nine of the eggs and break them one at a time, placing directly on top of the bacon. Take care not to break the yolks. Scatter the herbs evenly on top of the eggs. Apply salt and pepper liberally, and finish by placing thin slices of tomato on the herbs.
4 Roll the remaining pastry out into a circle and place this on top of the pie to form a crust.
5 Break the remaining egg into a cup and beat with a fork. Use a little of the beaten egg to seal the pastry top to the base by brushing the underside of the top pastry and gently pressing the top to the sides. If you're feeling artistic, decorate with the scraps of leftover trimmed pastry. Brush the remaining egg evenly over the top of the pie to make a glaze.
6 Place the pie on the preheated baking tray and cook for 45-50 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp. Remove the pie when cooked and allow to stand for at least 20 minutes.
Be in to win this cookbook
Comfort - Food for sharing, by the New Zealand Guild of Food Writers for the Starship Foundation, Random House, $45. Available from Cook the Books, 81 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, ph (09) 360 6513, cookthebooks.co.nz
They have one copy to give away. To enter the draw, email your name and address to books@cookthebooks.co.nz by Monday, November 1.
