My Favourites
Stéphane Raynaud’s rustic pies and tarts are to-die-for. Try his Salmon Pie and Chicken Pie with 30 Cloves of Garlic. Recipes below.
Open Stéphane Raynaud’s new book Pies and Tarts and you’ll soon be salivating. This mouth-watering collection of favourites – 80 in all – range from traditional French dishes such as pâté en croûte and ham pithiviers to comforting chicken and tarragon pie and indulgent filo parcels. How about the decadent champenois pie, which includes chicken livers, pork scotch fillet, fresh pork belly, rabbit meat and brut Champagne? Or the simple but tasty Cornish pasty or smoked Salmon spring roll?
Instructions are given for making your own puff, shortcrust and sweet crust pastries, though Raynaud also provides alternatives for shop-bought pastry for those short on time.
This is a fabulous book for yourself or as a gift.
Chicken Pie with 30 Cloves of Garlic
Serves 6
Equipment: 6 small individual pie tins
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours 30 mins
Serve hot, as a main course.
500 g pâte feuilletée (or 2 packets puff pastry)
1 free-range chicken, ready to cook
2 bay leaves
4 sage leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
1 bunch basil
33 garlic cloves
100 ml olive oil
200 ml muscat wine
2 eggs
Fine sea salt, cracked black pepper
CHICKEN-GARLIC FILLING
Season the chicken on all sides. In a flameproof casserole dish, gently sauté 30 whole cloves of garlic in the olive oil, place the chicken on top, add the herbs, season and moisten with the muscat. Cover with a lid and bake for 2 hours at 180°C. Add a little water if necessary during cooking so the chicken doesn’t stick.
Remove all the bones from the chicken, the meat should come off easily by itself. Crush the garlic cloves and remove the skin to get the pulp. Add the cooking juices and herbs to the pulp and chicken. Coarsely chop everything with a knife and adjust the seasoning.
Lightly beat the eggs. Finely slice the remaining 3 garlic cloves.
ASSEMBLY AND COOKING
Roll out half of the pastry dough and cut out 6 circles a little larger than the pie tins. Line the 6 pie tins with the pastry, allowing the edges to hang over the sides.
Fill with the chicken-garlic mixture and glaze the edges with egg. Roll out the remaining pastry dough and cut out another 6 rounds. Cover each small pie. Seal the 2 rounds of pastry dough together by pinching the edges, glaze the top of the pie and scatter with slivers of garlic. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.
This is an edited extract from Stéphane Reynaud’s Pies and Tarts by STÉPHANE REYNAUD, published by Murdoch Books, RRP $59.99, available now.
Salmon Pie
Serves 6
Preparation time: 30 Minutes
Total cooking time: 45 Minutes
Serve hot or cold, as an entrée or main course.
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pâte feuilletée, or 2 packets puff pastry
800 g (1 lb 12 oz) fresh skinless salmon
1 small bunch dill
5 eggs
300 ml (10½ fl oz) thin (pouring) cream
3 teaspoons pastis (anise-flavoured liqueur)
2 French shallots
3 teaspoons fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
1 small bunch basil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
SALMON FILLING
Cut 200 g (7 oz) of the salmon into 5 mm (¼ inch) slices.
Pluck the dill leaves. Process the rest of the salmon with the dill, 4 eggs, the cream and the pastis in a food processor until smooth. Finely chop the shallots. Add the fennel seeds and chopped shallots to the salmon mixture, then season. Pluck the basil leaves.
ASSEMBLY AND COOKING
Divide the dough in half and roll out two rectangles of the same size until about 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay one rectangle of dough on top. Spread over half the salmon mixture, leaving a 1 cm (½ inch) border all around. Cover with basil leaves and slices of salmon, then spread over the remaining mixture.
Whisk the remaining egg and use it to glaze the edges. Cover with the second piece of pastry. Seal the two rectangles of pastry dough together by pinching the edges. Glaze the top of the pie and scatter with the poppy seeds. Bake at 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 45 minutes.
This is an edited extract from Stéphane Reynaud’s Pies and Tarts by STÉPHANE REYNAUD, published by Murdoch Books, RRP $59.99, available now.
Speak Your Mind