Tag: homemade pie

Posted on in Blog, Recipes

Lampuki Pie Recipe

In this recipe we steamed Lampuki, spinach and cauliflower. Then we added fresh tomatoes, olives, peas, lemon zest and mint amongst other ingredients to create a tasty palate. Fish lovers would find this Maltese traditional recipe a real treat!

Ingredients (26cmx26cm oven dish)

  • 750g Lampuki, steamed or boiled
  • Short pastry (click here for recipe, you need to double the pastry recipe for the Lampuki pie)
  • 250g tomatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 250g cauliflower, steamed or boiled
  • 140g tomato puree
  • 200g spinach, steamed or boiled (make sure it is well drained)
  • 150g peas
  • 200g onions, cubed
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 100g olives
  • Olive oil
  • 2 eggs, beaten separately
  • 1 garlic bulb
  • Mint
  • Sesame seeds
  • Salt and pepper

Equipment

  • Steamer
  • Large frying pan
  • Wooden spoon
  • Fork
  • Oven dish
  • Pastry brush
  • Large plastic bowl
  • Rolling pin

Method

  1. Start by cleaning the fish, cut them into portions and steam or boil them. When ready, let them cool completely, remove the bones and flake the fish with your hands.
  2. In a large frying pan, heat up the olive oil on a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and leave to cook for around 3 minutes.
  3. Add the peas, cooked cauliflower, cooked and drained spinach, olives, tomatoes, tomato puree, lemon zest, mint and some salt and pepper. Add the flaked fish and cook for around 5 minutes.
  4. Add 1 beaten egg, give it a good stir and continue to cook until the mixture is dry and you can see no more liquids in the pan.
  5. When ready, take it off the heat and leave it on the side.
  6. Lightly grease the oven dish. Cut the dough in half and roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cover the dish with one of the pastries and prick some holes at the bottom with a fork.
  7. Transfer the fish mixture onto the dish with pastry and flatten with the back of a spoon. Cover the mixture with the other half of the pastry and again prick some holes at the top with a fork. Cut out extra bits of pastry and you can make some decorations on top of the pie.
  8. Use a pastry brush to brush to surface of the pie with the other beaten egg. Sprinkle some sesame seeds.
  9. Put in oven on gas mark 5-6 for around 40 minutes or until it turns into a nice golden colour.
  10. When ready, Take out of the oven and leave to rest for about 15 minutes before taking your first slice.
Posted on in Blog, Recipes

Corned Beef Pie with Vodka Pastry!

Ingredients for the pastry:

  • 300g all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 200g butter
  • 70ml water
  • 30ml vodka
  • Pinch of sea salt

Equipment

  • Plastic bag
  • Plastic cup
  • Food processor
  • 2 medium pots
  • Oven proof dish
  • Rolling pin
  • Wooden spoon
  • Spoon

Other

  • Baking paper

Method

IMPORTANT TIP!!
Before you actually start this pastry, put the measured flour and baking powder in a bag, the water in a small plastic cup and place in freezer. Cut the butter in small cubes and put that also in the freezer. Do this before otherwise it would be too difficult to cut the butter once frozen. Leave them in freezer for about an hour.

  1. When you are ready to start the pastry, take out the ingredients from the freezer. Place the flour mix and the butter pieces in a food processor and mix until it starts resembling coarse crumbs.
  2. Start pouring the icy water slowly and also the vodka, until it all starts to come together. Work the dough lightly into a ball.
  3. Refrigerate for at least two hours or freeze for about 30 minutes. This dough can also be left in the freezer and used when you need to bake.
  4. When ready, take out dough and cut it into two. Lay on a piece of baking paper lightly floured and cover with another piece of baking paper.
  5. Butter pie dish.
  6. Start rolling out the dough until it is bigger than your pie pan. Pick up the dough which is on the paper and turn it over onto your pie pan, remove the paper slowly and gently press it in. Do not worry if it breaks, you can easily patch it! Prick the base with a fork.
  7. Add filling (as explained in below comment) pressing it down with the back of a spoon and proceed to roll out the top the same way. Prick the top with a fork too.
  8. Trim away extra dough (you can use these trimmings to decorate) and brush whole surface with a beaten egg.
  9. Place in a preheated oven and bake at 180c till golden brown.

 

Ingredients for the filling:

  • 2 large tins corned beef
  • 1 small can tomato paste (about 120g)
  • 4 large carrots, finely diced
  • 500g frozen peas
  • 2 large onions finely diced
  • 6 small potatoes, cooked and cut into 4 pieces
  • 1 vegetable cube
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • A little water

 

Method:

  1. Heat the oil and add the carrots and 1 onion and cook until carrots are soft. If necessary add a little water.
  2. Cook the peas in a different pan. Start by heating the oil and add the other onion. Cook until soft and stir in the frozen peas. Fill up the pan with water until it almost covers the peas. Add the veg cube , bring to boil and leave to simmer for around 20mins with the lid on. If they become too dry, add some more water.
  3. Preheat the oven at 180°C. In the meantime you can also cook the potatoes, do not cook them too much and set aside.
  4. When carrots & onion are cooked, add the corned beef and tomato paste. Give it a good stir and simmer for a couple of minutes until the corned beef smashes down.
  5. Stir well again and turn off the heat. Mash the potatoes and stir them in. Set the mixture aside.
  6. When peas are nice and soft, drain them well and add to the corned beef mixture.
  7. Butter pie pan and carry on with the pastry as explained above.
Posted on in Blog, Recipes

Spinach and Tuna Pie

For Short Pastry recipe click here

Ingredients for filling

  • 2 tins of tuna fish
  • 600g fresh spinach
  • 3 anchovy fillets (you can leave out if you don’t like them)
  • 6 sundried tomatoes
  • 12 olives chopped and stoned
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3 tablespoons capers
  • 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • fresh mint leaves
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • a little sea salt and freshly
    ground pepper.
  • 1 beaten egg yolk (to brush the top pastry before going into oven)

Equipment

  • Deep large baking dish
  • Wooden spoon
  • Pastry brush
  • Rolling pin
  • Fork

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven on gas mark 6.
  2. Pour some olive oil in a deep large baking dish and put it in oven to heat up.
  3. When oil is piping hot, toss in the chopped onion and crushed garlic and bake till it’s gold.
  4. Throw in all the other ingredients ONE BY ONE, bake them until every vegetable is well baked in the fats. There should be no liquids left in the pan. Give a good stir every time yo take out dish to put in next ingredient.
  5. When ready, cool the mixture completely.
  6. Get the pastry ready by rolling it out and lining it in the bottom of another smaller oven dish. Add the cooled off mixture and press it down into the pastry case. Cover it with the pastry lid, seal the edges and prick all over with a fork. Decorate as you please and brush the surface with an egg yolk.
  7. Bake for about 45 minutes until it’s golden brown. Make sure it settles and eat it preferably at room temperature.