Savory Pies

My love of pies goes way back.  Often when asked what kind of birthday cake I would like as a child (and still today), my response would be “pie.”  However, as I’ve gotten older, while I still make traditional sweet pies at holidays or when peaches are in season, the types of pies I find myself making and eating most often are savory pies.  In fact lately I seem to have an obsession with a particular savory pie, the quiche pie.

Quiche is one of those foods like pizza where you can take bits of leftover food and make something wonderful.  It’s also one of those foods that only requires pie dough, eggs, some sort of dairy, and whatever else you fancy.  As I make pie crusts two at a time, there’s often an extra in the freezer.  If not, I usually have flour & some sort of fat in the house.

Once you have a bottom crust in the pie pan, sauté some vegetables and any meat that’s not already cooked.  Set that aside.  Beat up half a dozen eggs  - more or less depending on the depth of your pie plate and the volume of the rest of your ingredients.  I usually beat in some half and half or whole milk with the eggs, a large pinch of salt and another of nutmeg.  Put your meat and vegetable mixture in the crust, maybe some cheese, and pour the egg mixture on top.  Give a little jiggle to evenly coat everything and bake in a medium oven until  the egg is set.

Most traditional recipes call for full cream in the  egg mixture, and sometimes quite a lot, but since I tend to eat quiche more often than I should, I try to go easy in this department. This also makes the quiche travel a bit better as it’s a bit more solid than the varieties with lots of cream and I like to make quiches to take on road trips (weird, but it always gets eaten).

Some of the classic combinations include ham or bacon and cheese, broccoli and cheddar, spinach and feta, sautéed mushrooms, but don’t let these limit you.

Here’s one I made with broccoli, leaks, sundried tomatoes, a couple pieces of bacon, and a sprinkling of cheese. 

  

Which brings me to another pie technique.  In this case, I had a lot of vegetables and only a shallow tart pan, meaning I knew my quiche would not take long in the oven to set.  Which means my pie crust might not be done by the time the filling was done.  If you find yourself in this scenario, all you need to do is blind bake the pie crust.  Why it is called that, I have no idea as you can generally see  what’s going on with the pie crust easier than you can when it’s filled.

Simply line your dish with the crust.  Some people are lucky and can just bake it like this, especially if they are on TV.  

I find my piecrust tends to slide down the pan when I try, so I line the crust with foil and put some rocks on it.  You can also use parchment paper and pie weights, dried beans, or coins, but I have rocks around and I’m not sure what effect pre-baking beans has on them when you actually want to use those beans.

(Don't blame my mother for this one; she uses proper pie weights.)

Pop the crust in the oven for 10 minutes or more to give it a head start and then fill and bake as usual.

Finally, quiches aren’t the only savory pies.  Last time we had dinner guests, my SO made these pies for dinner:

(Familiar picture?  I did at least put the crust on these . . .)

In one, he sautéed beef, mushroom, onion, squash , and carrots, added some broth and let the whole thing simmer for a while.  The other one was similar though it had venison (they sell that at the regular store here) and some wine in the mixture.  When he was ready to fill the pie crusts, rather than add a thickener like flour as most meat pies call for, he strained most of the extra liquid and made gravy to pour on afterward.  (I live a charmed life with someone else who can cook too.)  Chicken pot pie is similar, only there’s milk added in with the broth. 

(Mmm - meat pie filling.)

If you’re not using his creative method and want some thickener, add a couple tablespoons of flour to be melted in with butter in a frying pan or pot and cook until golden brown as if making a roux or gravy.  Then add the liquid to that (followed by everything else) and simmer until the liquid thickens up a bit so your pie doesn’t come out watery.  Once that’s done, pour into a pie dish lined with one pie crust and top with another pie crust, pinching the two together to seal.  Don’t worry about making perfect designs with the pie crust – pies look impressive enough on their own so no need to succumb to your obsessive-compulsive tendencies.  Rustic is good – it makes your food look homemade.

Do cut a couple of vents in the top of your pie – this will avoid explosion and soggy bottom.  Do also place it in the bottom of a medium oven (350 or so) and bake it for 45 minutes – or until you’re afraid the crust might burn. 

Whatever savory pie you choose, remember recipes are just guidelines and pies are actually a good way to take the leftovers you have (turkey anyone?) and making them into a tasty savory meal that seems to have some cohesion.