Charlotte Pike

Dinner

Pheasant, Leek and Tarragon Pie

By Leave a Comment

IMG_0209

This is a delicious pie, with a rich and creamy sauce, but plenty of freshness from the leeks and tarragon. It was published in the Easter Edition of Countryman’s Weekly, and my postbag has been positively bulging with emails from those of you who have enjoyed making this recipe. So, please do enjoy and tell me if you make it!

Pheasant, Leek and Tarragon Pie

Charlotte Pike

This is a delicious pie, with a rich and creamy sauce, but plenty of freshness from the leeks and tarragon.

Serves 4, generously

Ingredients

600g pheasant breasts, trimmed of fat and any shot

50g butter

4 large leeks, cut into 1cm thick slices

Sea salt and black pepper

200ml chicken stock

200ml double cream

Leaves from 5 sprigs fresh French tarragon

1 x 375g (appx) sheet ready rolled all butter puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

 

Method

Cut the pheasant breast into large strips or chunks.  Melt half of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan, and add the pheasant. Cook for around 4 minutes to lightly brown the meat. Set aside, add the rest of the butter to the pan, and add the leeks. Cook over a moderate heat for around 15 minutes, until the leeks are softened, but not coloured. Add the pheasant back into the pan and season well with salt and pepper.

Next, add the stock and cream, stir well and simmer gently for another 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Transfer the pie filling to a pie dish and set aside to cool. The dish I use is 25x12cm.

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 5. Roughly chop the tarragon leaves and stir through the pie filling. Top with the pastry sheet and brush that with beaten egg. Cut a cross or make a whole in the middle of the pastry sheet to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is a rich brown and well risen.

I like to serve this with lots of green vegetables. The sauce is thinner than some pies and therefore coats the vegetables nicely. Potatoes can be served with the pie too, if you like.

Smoked Haddock Kedgeree

By Leave a Comment

IMG_9122

Smoked Haddock Kedgeree

Charlotte Pike

Having tried dozens of kedgeree recipes, I think this one is the best. It’s rich, spicy and surprisingly complex in flavour and adapted from the recipe in Leith’s Fish Bible. Make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning once everything is assembled, as I think it often needs a bit more salt at the very end.

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g Basmati rice (use white or brown, but white is much quicker to cook)

125g butter

1 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped

5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 large green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 large whole fillets natural smoked haddock, skin removed and cut into 3cm chunks

1 heaped tsp turmeric

1 heaped tsp good quality curry powder (choose your preferred heat)

Sea salt

Lemon wedges to serve

Fresh coriander to serve (optional)

 

Method

 

Start by boiling the rice according to pack instructions.

Whilst the rice is cooking, place half of the butter into a separate large frying pan and melt over a moderate heat. Add the onion and cook for around 5 minutes, until it softens and becomes translucent. Be sure to keep the heat under control so that the onion does not colour.

Then, add the ginger, chilli and fish and cook for a further 5 minutes. The fish will start to cook in the butter.

Put the eggs on to boil in a separate pan. Bring to the boil and cook for 7 minutes, then drain.

Add the spices to the pan with the fish, and stir fry to cook the spices. Continue to cook until the fish is cooked though. It will flake into smaller pieces as it cooks, so stir gently so as not to break it up completely.

By this time, the Basmati rice should be cooked. Spoon the rice into the pan with the fish and add the rest of the butter. Stir gently, but thoroughly, to ensure the rice is evenly coated in the spicy butter.

Peel the eggs now and cut them in half. Give the kedgeree a final stir, season and adjust accordingly. It may need a bit more salt, it may need a bit more butter if it’s on the dry side, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Serve on warmed plates with more lemon wedges and fresh coriander for some extra colour.

Apple pie

By 4 Comments

Freshly baked apple pie

Freshly baked apple pie

An apple pie is one of the most comforting, homely puddings you can ever make, and this is my all-time favourite recipe, adapted from my Hungry Student Baking book.

If you’re not confident making pastry from scratch, this is a great recipe to start with. It’s pretty much foolproof and produces a delicious, rich, buttery pastry. It’s slightly sweet and enriched with egg yolks, which is exactly how I like sweet shortcrust pastry. I hope this recipe will also convert you to making pastry at home, rather than using shop-bought. The difference is astonishing.

This pie is easy and quick to make, as homemade pies go, and it also uses readily-available ingredients – all of which I will generally keep in the kitchen – so this is a lovely last-minute dessert to make to follow a Sunday roast. It’ll really impress your family or guests.

Feel free to add more spice or dried fruit to the mix. Cloves and sultanas all work very well here. You could also use half Bramley apples and half eating apples, such as Cox, Braeburn or Jazz, which would produce a softer texture and taste a little sharper.

Apple pie

Copyright Charlotte Pike

Tip: I use eating apples in my pies, but feel free to use baking apples, such as Bramley apples. Just add an extra 25g/ ¼ cup sugar

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 300g/2 ½ cups plain flour
  • 150g/2/3 cup butter, cubed and chilled
  • 4 tsp caster sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 8 tsp ice cold water

For the apple filing

  • 650g eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices
  • 70g/generous 1/3 cup caster sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 tsp water
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar for sprinkling

Method

  • Place the apple slices into a saucepan with the sugar, cinnamon and water and cook for 10 minutes. The apples should have softened a little during this time.Set aside to cool.
  • If you are making pastry, start with this first. If not, skip to stage 9
  • Place the flour and butter into a bowl. Rub together lightly using your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
  • Add the sugar and egg yolk and stir into the butter and flour
  • Finally, add the cold water, a little at a time. Take a table knife and use this to stir the mixture to mix the water in.
  • Once the water has been added, bring the pastry together to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and chilli in the fridge for 20 minutes
  • Whilst the pastry is chilling, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Grease a 24cm pie dish, or a 20cm/ 8” round spring form tin well and set aside
  • When the pastry is chilled, take two large sheets of clingfilm, place half the ball of pastry between the two sheets and roll out to be thin enough to fit the tin – ¼-½ cm thickness is generally about right.
  • Fit the pastry to the tin and press into the edges and round the sides. If you are using the springform tin, build the pastry up to 5 cm up the sides of the tin and cut around the edges neatly. If you have any thin patches, just press any excess pastry over them to cover them up. If you are using the pie dish, leave 1-2cm excess pastry around the rim.
  • Fill the pastry case with the apple mixture.
  • Roll out the second half of the pastry as you did the first half. Place the pastry on top of the pie and cut around the edge of the dish using a knife.
  • Dampen down the edges of both pieces of pastry with water. To do this, take a little cold water in a glass. Dip your finger in the water and then dab it onto the edges of the pastry to moisten. Then, take a fork, and press down around the rim of the pie to seal the pastry.
  • Brush the pie with the beaten egg to glaze, and sprinkle with the caster sugar. Make a couple of cuts in the centre of the pie using a sharp knife
  • Bake the pie for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
  • Serve with cream, custard or ice cream