Parmesan crust pie / Engleska pita s parmezanom / Piirakka parmesan taikinalla

It’s January again, it’s dark and gloomy, and quite honestly, we’ve run out of more fun stuff to do. Our usual excuses for not blogging are falling flat now that there are no outdoor events to attend. No street food also means we are back to our usual ways of non-stop cooking and thinking about food, we just needed a little push to get back to publishing our recipes. And then came pie.

One of us has a thing about British football and dreams about eating pie every time there’s a match on tv. The other one just has a mom who ate a lot of raw dough when she was pregnant. We admit it, pie is a bit of a hassle, and there are easier things you can to for a Tuesday night dinner. But as the winter has us all locked inside any way, why not give it a shot? We promise this is a very, very forgiving pie recipe.

We’ve tested lots of quiche and pie recipes, which has led to many frustrating moments when a perfectly rolled out piece of dough just ends up breaking into a dozen pieces as we try to put it into the mould. It might happen to this one too, but it’s super easy to roll out, doesn’t stick, and is somehow pliable enough so that you can patch things up in a minute without causing any damage to the crust. We use it with any filling just because putting lots of parmesan into the crust makes everything better, but we love this unusual bean and pancetta one.

As much as we love leftovers and always try to have some for the next day, it’s simply a waste to reheat a pie. This recipe makes 4, so we usually leave half of the dough in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap until the next day, and make fresh pies two nights in a row. You can also freeze it if it’s tightly wrapped, just remember to leave some time for defrosting before rolling it out.

Crust recipe by Donna Hay, filling by Smitten Kitchen.

(makes 4 / za 4 osobe / neljälle)

Parmesan crust: 300 g all-purpose flour 80 g parmesan 150 g butter 1 tsp salt 1 egg + 1 egg yolk 1 tbsp milk Filling: 100 g pancetta (veggie version: 1 tbsp olive oil) 2 onions 2 carrots 2 celery stalks 3 garlic cloves 300 g cooked beans 1 tsp chilli powder 250 g fresh swiss chard or spinach (or 125 g frozen) 50 g butter 3,5 tbsp flour 3 cups chicken (or veggie) stock

Tijesto od parmezana: 300 g oštrog brašna 80 g parmezana 150 g maslaca 1 žličica soli 1 jaje + 1 žumanjak 1 žlica mlijeka Punjenje: 100 g pancete (za vege verziju: 1 žlica maslinovog ulja) 2 luka 2 mrkve 2 stabljike celera 3 režnja češnjaka 300 g kuhanog graha 1 žličica čilija u prahu 250 g svježe blitve ili špinata (ili 125 g smrznutog) 50 g maslaca 3,5 žlica brašna 3 šalice pilećeg (ili povrtnog) temeljca

Parmesan taikina 300 g jauhoja 80 g raastettua parmesan juustoa 150 g voita 1 tl suolaa 1 kananmuna + 1 keltuainen 1 rkl maitoa Täyte: 100 g pancettaa (vege versio: 1 rkl oliiviöljyä) 2 sipulia 2 porkkanaa 2 lehtisellerin vartta 3 valkosipulinkynttä 300 g keitettyjä papuja 1 tl chilijauhetta 250 g tuoretta lehtijuurikasta (tai 125 g pakaste pinaattia) 50 g voita 3,5 rkl jauhoja 3 lasia kananlientä (tai kasvislientä)

For the dough, finely grate the parmesan, dice the cold butter, add flour and salt, and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1 egg and milk, blitzing some more until it comes together. It might need some quick kneading if your food processor isn’t very powerful. Cover in plastic wrap and leave in the fridge until you’re ready with the filling. Dice the pancetta (if using), onions, carrot, celery, and mince the garlic. Heat a dry pan and slowly fry the pancetta. When it gets crispy, remove the pancetta, saving it for later. If you’re skipping the pancetta, heat up the olive oil at this point. Sauté the veggies in the leftover fat or oil, on medium heat, until softened. Add chilli powder, salt and pepper. Remove the veggies into a bowl along with shredded or defrosted swiss chard (or spinach), beans, and pancetta. In the same pot you used for the veggies, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter, add flour and cook for a few minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock, mixing until combined and smooth. Add the reserved veggies into the sauce. Let cool for a bit. Butter 4 ovenproof bowls of about 2-2.5 cups in size. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, then divide each into a bigger one for the bottom and a smaller one for the lid. Roll the dough pieces out, line the bottom and sides of the bowl with the larger piece, add the cooled filling, and finish by topping with the lid. Crimp the edges and brush the top with egg yolk. Bake for about 40 minutes at 180°C.

Sitno naribajte parmezan, narežite hladni maslac na kockice, pa ih blendajte zajedno s brašnom i solju dok ne počnu ličiti na krušne mrvice. Dodajte jedno jaje i mlijeko, pa nastavite blendati dok se sve ne poveže. Ako nemate jaki multipraktik, možda ćete trebati još kratko premijesiti tijesto. Zamotajte u plastičnu foliju i ostavite u hladnjaku za vrijeme dok pripremate punjenje. Nasjeckajte pancetu (ako je koristite), luk, mrkvu, stabljike celera i češnjak. Zagrijte tavu bez ulja i pržite pancetu na laganoj vatri. Kad panceta postane hrskava, izvadite je i sačuvajte za kasnije. Ako ste preskočili pancetu, sad možete ugrijati maslinovo ulje u tavi. Pirjajte povrće na preostaloj masti ili ulju, na srednjoj vatri, dok ne omekša. Dodajte čili u prahu, sol i papar. Izvadite povrće u posudu i dodajte mu sjeckanu ili odmrznutu blitvu (ili špinat), grah i pancetu. U istoj tavi koju ste koristili za povrće pripremite umak. Otopite maslac, pa mu dodajte brašno i pržite nekoliko minuta. Lagano dodavajte temeljac uz stalno miješanje dok ne dobijete jednoličan i gladak umak. Dodajte povrće u umak, te ostavite da se malo ohladi. Premažite maslacem 4 posudice zapremnine oko 2-2.5 šalice koje su prikladne za pećnicu. Podijelite tijesto na 4 dijela, pa od svakog odvojite veći dio za dno, a manji za poklopac pite. Razvaljajte komadiće tijesta, pa posložite veći tako da prekriva dno i stranice posudice, ulijte četvrtinu punjenja, te poklopite manjim djelićem tijesta. Zatvorite rubove, premažite žumanjkom, te pecite oko 40 minuta na 180°C.

Aloita taikina raastamalla parmesan ja paloittelemalla voi. Lisää jauhot sekä suola ja sekoita monitoimikoneella (tai käsin) kunnes seos näyttää korppujauholta. Lisää kananmuna sekä maito ja sekoita kunnes taikina muodostuu. Riippuen monitoimikoneesta taikinaa pitää ehkä hieman vaivata että siitä tulee tasainen. Pakkaa elmukelmuun ja laita jääkaappiin viilenemään (30 min). Pilko pancetta (jos sitä käytät), sipulit, porkkana, lehtiselleri, ja hienonna valkosipulinkynnet. Lämmitä kuiva pannu ja paista pancetta miedolla lämmöllä. Poista se kun se on tarpeaksi rapeaa ja säästä (käytetään myöhemmin). Ja jos et käytä pancettaa lisää tässä vaiheessa oliiviöljyä pannulle. Paista pilkotut vihannekset pancetta rasvassa (tai oliiviöljyssä) kunnes pehmeitä. Lisää chili jauhetta, soulaa ja pippuria. Poista vihannekset pannulta ja lisää ne kulhoon tuoreen lehtijuurikkaan (tai sulaatetun pakastepinaatin), pavujen ja pancettan kanssa. Valmista kastike pannussa missä paistoit pancetan sekä vihannekset. Sulata voi, lisää jauhot, ja paista pari minuuttia sekoittelen (valmista kun jauhoilla on tummanruskea väri). Lisää kanaliemi hitaasti, sekoittelen kunnes kastike on tasainen. Lisää sitten kasvikset ja pancetta takas kastikkeeseen. Anna viilentyä hieman. Voitele neljä uunikestävää kulhoa (johon mahtuu n. 2-2.5 kuppia). Jaa taikina 4 palaan, ja sitten jaa jokainen näistä vielä kahteen palaan, yksi isompi ja yksi pienempi. Isommasta tulee piirakan pohja ja pienemmästä piirakan kansi. Rullaa taikinan palat ohuemmiksi ja laita isompi pala kulhon sisälle. Lisää sitten täytettä, ja laita lopuksi kansi päälle. Poimuta reunat sormillasi ja suti kansi keltuaisella. Paista uunissa 40 minuuttia, 180 astetta.