Mussel Chowder Pot Pies. Photo / Wendy Morgan
Wendy Morgan was brought up in her family’s pie shop in Canterbury and developed her pastry-making skills “by osmosis”. The pie is the ultimate comfort food and long weekend “roadie” snack - though Morgan warns, “Don’t pie and drive, as this could open up a world of catastrophe.” A pie, she says, deserves undivided attention.
This is a great way to jazz up your chowder.
Makes 6 pot pies
Use 250ml soup bowls or ramekins
1 quantity flaky pastry, below
1 egg
1 tsp fennel seeds
1.5kg fresh mussels
1 cup white wine (sauvignon blanc is good)
3 medium potatoes
Salt
400ml fresh cream, approx
50g butter
1 large shallot, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
½ cup sweetcorn kernels, fresh, tinned or frozen
½ red capsicum, finely diced
1 heaped Tbsp plain white flour
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 210C fan bake.
On a lightly floured bench, roll the pastry out to 4mm thick and leave to relax on the bench for a minute or two. Turn the bowl or ramekin upside down on to the pastry and cut around the edge, making six rounds. If you don’t get six rounds from your pastry initially, press the trimmings together and roll out again. Place the discs on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Whisk egg and egg-wash the pastry discs. Sprinkle the discs with fennel seeds. Bake for 12–15 minutes until puffy and golden brown. You can cook the pastry ahead of time and quickly reheat the discs when you are ready to serve, or have the uncooked discs on the tray and bake them as you are finishing the chowder.
Make sure the mussels are nice and clean, scrape any barnacles off with a knife and pull the beards out. Place the mussels and white wine in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Cook the mussels over high heat until they have all opened, stirring occasionally. Remove the mussels from the pan and leave to cool. Strain the mussels from the cooking liquor, and reserve. Remove the mussels from the shells and chop the flesh. Discard any mussels that have not opened.
Peel and cut the potatoes into small dice. Place into a saucepan, cover with cold water and add a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until just tender. Drain into a colander. Do not overcook or the potatoes will break down in your chowder.
Pour the mussel cooking liquor into a measuring jug and add enough cream to make up 600ml.
Melt the butter and gently sweat the shallot until starting to soften. Add the garlic, celery, sweetcorn and capsicum. Cook for 5 minutes, or until softens, depending how crunchy you want your vegetables to be. Stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the cream mixture, and season with some pepper. Cook for a further 2 minutes, or until smooth and shiny. Add in the mussels, potatoes and parsley. Heat through. Check the seasoning.
Warm the soup bowls or ramekins either in the oven or by filling with hot water then drying with a tea towel. Spoon the chowder into the bowls and top each one with a warm pastry disc. Serve.
I love the earthy cooling tones of silverbeet and the stem adds a great texture. You can, however, swap it out for spinach or even cavolo nero.
Use a 35 x 11cm loose-bottomed rectangular tin
1 quantity shortcrust pastry, below
½ onion, thinly sliced
20g butter
Salt
200g silverbeet, stem and leaves, shredded
Ground black pepper
Ground nutmeg
100g gruyere, grated
2 eggs
75ml cream
Preheat the oven to 190C fan bake.
On a lightly floured bench, roll out pastry into a rectangle big enough to fit the tin, about 4mm thick. Line the tin by rolling the pastry backwards on to the rolling pin and then rolling it forwards on to the tin. Guide the pastry into the corners and down the sides of the tin. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the tin to cut the pastry. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Use the tip of a sharp knife or fork to prick the pastry a few times. Line the pastry shell with baking paper and rice or baking beads. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and rice and bake for another 5 minutes.
Saute the onion in the butter with a little salt until translucent, then add the silverbeet and fry until wilted. Drain off any excess liquid. Season with a little more salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Spread on to the tart shell.
Sprinkle the cheese over the tart. Whisk the eggs and cream together in a bowl and slowly pour this into the tart, a little bit at a time, letting it settle in before adding more. Turn the oven down to 180C and bake for a further 15 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Swap the blackberries for any of your favourite berries or even rhubarb. I like to use a couple of different varieties of apple as they cook down to different textures. Granny smiths will cook down to a complete puree whereas braeburns will stay in pieces. Choose apples with a good acidity.
Use a 26cm round pie dish
4 heaped tsp raw caster sugar
300g fresh or frozen blackberries
4 large apples, at least 2 granny smith, the other 2 your choice
1 tsp cornflour
1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry, below
1 egg custard whipped cream
Preheat the oven to 190C fan bake.
Sprinkle 2 tsp caster sugar over the blackberries and set aside.
Peel, quarter and core the apples. Slice the apples and layer into the pie dish. Sprinkle 2 tsp caster sugar in between the layers. Sift the cornflour over the blackberries and fold through. Tip on top of the apples. The filling should pile a little above the top of the pie dish, as the apple will condense down as it cooks.
On a lightly floured bench, roll the pastry out to 4mm thick. Place the pie dish over the pastry and cut around it, 2.5cm out from the edge of the dish. From the remaining pastry, cut a 1.5cm wide strip of pastry long enough to wrap around the edge of the pie dish — this can be done in several pieces and joined together. Brush the edge of the pie dish with water and place the strips on. Brush the top of the strip with water and then place on the pastry top by rolling it backwards on to your rolling pin and then forwards on to the pie dish. Press the pastry top to the strip of pastry and crimp all the way around. Cut some decorative leaves with any leftover rolled pastry.
Whisk egg and egg-wash the top of the pie, place the leaves on and brush with egg. Using the tip of a sharp knife, create eight airholes in a circle around the top. Sprinkle the pie with a little raw caster sugar.
Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with custard and whipped cream, or a thick creamy yoghurt.
300g high-grade white flour
200g cold butter, diced
50g raw caster sugar
Pinch salt
75ml cold water
Place the flour, butter, sugar and salt into a food processor with a blade attachment and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the cold water and blend until the dough just starts to come together. Remove from the processor and finish mixing by hand. Form into a ball, press down a little, wrap in cling film or baking paper and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes before using.
250g high-grade white flour
150g cold butter, diced
½ tsp salt
60ml cold water
Place the flour, butter and salt into a food processor with a blade attachment and process to a breadcrumb consistency. Add the cold water and process until just starting to come together. Remove from the bowl and continue bringing the dough together by hand. Form into a ball, flatten a little and wrap in cling film or baking paper. Rest in the fridge for 15 minutes before using.
You can also make this in an electric mixer or by hand.
150g butter, room temperature firm
200g high-grade white flour
Pinch salt
125ml cold water
Rub 20g of butter into the flour and salt by hand, or use an electric mixer. Add the cold water and bring together to form a soft dough. Wrap the dough in cling film or baking paper and rest in the fridge for 10 minutes, then roll out to a 35 x 17cm rectangle. Break the remaining butter into small pieces and dot it over two-thirds of the rectangle. Fold the plain third of the pastry over to the centre. Then fold the buttered third over to make a square. Give the pastry a quarter turn on the bench. Gently roll the pastry out. Start by pushing down with the rolling pin. Roll out to 40 x 15cm then repeat the same fold sequence as before. Wrap the pastry in cling film or baking paper and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Repeat the rolling out and folding sequence five more times, resting the pastry in the fridge each time.
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