David Loftus - Sophie Conran’s Pies

To my little guinea pigs, Felix and Coco Love Mummy

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Introduction

Making Pastry

Meaty Pies

Beef with Carrots

Beef with Black Olives

Jasper’s Steak and Kidney Pie

Beef Wellington

Beef, Ale and Mushroom with Yorkshire Pudding Lid

Beef and Beer Pie with Sweet Potato Mash

Shepherd’s Pie

Osso Bucco Pie

Cow Pie

Beef with Button Mushrooms and Red Wine

Spiced Lamb with Beans

Moroccan Lamb with Apricots

Lamb, Carrot and Fruit Juice Pie

Lasagne

My Mum’s Steak and Kidney Pudding

Porky Pies

Pork and Prune with Apple Mash

Pork and Stilton with Polenta Pastry

Ham and Cheese Picnic Pie

Ham and Chicken Pie

Sausage and Mushroom Pie

Sausage and Caramelised Onion with Mash

Cottechino and Lentil with Parmesan Polenta

Sausage and Apricot Parcels

Bacon and Southern Spoonbread Pie

Potato and Bacon Pie

Portuguese Stone Pie

Fair Game

Christmas Duck and Fig Pie

Rabbit Pie

Pieminister’s Mloukiya Wabbit Pie

Venison with Port and Plums

The Browns’ Pheasant and Sausage Pie

Pheasant and Cranberry Pie with Parsnip Mash

Tweety Pies

Spanish Chicken Pie

Chicken and Egg Pie

Devilled Chicken Pie

Chicken and Asparagus with Coconut Milk

Chicken, Olive and Preserved Lemon Pie

Chicken, Lentil, Spinach and Smoked Bacon

Chicken with Leeks and Cream

Chicken and Mushroom Pie for Little Chickens

Creamy Chicken with Chanterelle Mushrooms

Chicken with Red Wine and Polenta Top

Sage’s Tamale Pie

Little Fishy in a Dishy

Classic Fish Pie

Cod and Bacon

Salmon and Fennel

Fish Pie for Little Pirates

Cod with Salsa Verde

Halibut and Spinach

Haddock and Black Pudding Mini Tarts

Caramelised Onion, Anchovy and Olive

Hake with Lemon and Mint

Quick Fish Foldover

Smoked Trout and Almond Quick Pie

Inky Squid Pie

Fish and Fennel with Saffron Mash

Smoked Haddock and Mushroom with Fresh Herbs

Salmon en Croûte

Veg’ Out

Roast Vegetable with Parmesan Pastry

Roasted Vegetable with Cumin Puff Pastry

Asparagus and Quail’s Eggs

Spring Vegetables with Lemon Polenta

Tasty Tuscan Beans and Tomato Pie

“La Coca” Algerian Red Pepper and Tomato

Crispy Spinach and Mint Cigars

Butternut Squash, Sage and Goat’s Cheese

Aubergine, Feta and Filo

Creamy Mushroom and Polenta

Tomato and Mozzarella Triangles

Flamiche

Endive, Roquefort and Walnut Pie

Coloured Peppers and Olive Lunch Buns

Stringy Cheese Pie

Three Cheese Picnic Pie

Calzone di Scarola

Sweetie Pies

Lemon Meringue Pie

Little Lime Curd and Raspberry Pies

Armagnac, Prune and Ginger Little Pies

Blueberry and Strawberry Filo Pies

Apple Pie

Apple, Orange and Ginger Upside-down Pie

Easy Peasy Plum and Blackberry

Mark’s Famous Apple Crumble

Winter Spiced Fruit Pie

Mince Pies

Whoopie Pie

Pecan Pie

Pear and Apricot Tart

Cardamom and Honey Bread and Butter Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding Pie

Banoffee Pie

Keep Reading

Index

Acknowledgements

Copyright

About the Publisher

What is a pie? Sounds like a simple question, but over the years pies have been and still are many varied things, so for a definition I’d say the looser the better. How about a baked dish with some sort of filling, often with a pastry casing or top, though sometimes not? The word “pie” (or “pye”) itself is derived from the Middle English for magpie and it’s easy to see why.Just like this avaricious bird storing precious objects in its nest, the cook can pack a pie with all manner of surprises. Pies can be savoury or sweet, enclosed or open, with pastry, or not, the right way up or even upside down. Pies helpfully are often called a pie but sometimes it’s a pasty, a quiche, pudding, tart or even a cake.

Big or small, pies are wonderfully difficult to define. The term “pie” is used to describe dishes that aren’t pies at all but confections, and their adjunct can describe their filling or not. An Eskimo pie is my favourite offender being neither a pie nor containing a single shred of Eskimo. It is, in fact, an oblong of ice cream covered in chocolate. So, in keeping with the rebellious nature of pies everywhere, I’ve sneaked some controversial ones into this book!

I used to believe it was the Greeks who had invented pies but as I delved further I found references suggesting that it was in fact the Egyptians, with bakers to the pharaohs wrapping nuts, honey and fruits inside a bread dough. It seems the Egyptians kindly passed the pie idea to the Greeks who thoughtfully originated pie pastry. When the Romans ran roughshod over the Greeks, they appropriated this delicacy and triumphantly delivered it home.

Once the pastry case had been invented there really was no limit to what could be baked inside. Fast forward to the thirteenth century and find reference to a tortoise pie from an anonymous Andalusian Cookbook which starts, “simmer the tortoises lightly in water”. You would have thought tortoises had no need of another shell, but they were indeed further encased in pastry. And of course we all remember the nursery rhyme from our childhood:

Sing a song of sixpence ,

A pocket full of rye;

Four-and-twenty blackbirds

Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened ,

The birds began to sing.

Wasn’t that a dainty dish

To set before the King?

Can you imagine the commotion? As the pie was cut open the blackbirds flew around the King’s banqueting hall, up and around the rafters, extinguishing candles as they flapped over them, birds squawking, people screaming, and a pampered King clutching his sides with delight. Yet this fairytale scene is not as far-fetched as it sounds. There has been a long tradition of live animals and even people being “baked” into pies or, rather, inserted into a pre-baked pie case and later released to entertain and astonish guests (a bit like the modern-day novelty of scantily clad models bursting out of birthday cakes). Think of the impressive structural quality to a pie, the mystery of what lies within, and that moment of revelation as you cut into it; little wonder serving a pie can so easily be transformed into a moment of theatre.