Category Archives: pie

Chickpea & spinach dumplings (with a black sesame seed crust)

Posted on by
3

chickpea & spinach dumplings

These aren’t the kind of dumplings you float in a stew! Rather, this is how I imagine the dumplings that Kung Fu Panda fights over. They have a light crust, studded with black sesame seeds, black mustard seeds and black pepper. (I love this combination just because they’re so pretty in the pan together!) And a simple filling of spinach, chickpeas, cilantro and a bit of cheese. They’re fun to make and fun to eat! I have to admit that I completely messed up this crust at first, but, proving that crust is forgiving, I added a few ingredients, gave myself a day to get over the frustration, and it worked perfectly.

Here’s Ken Parker singing Sugar Dumpling.
Continue reading →

Chard, pistachio & golden raisin tart

Posted on by
3

When I was in Spain quite a few years ago, I stopped at a place with only one vegetarian thing on the menu – spinach, raisins, and pine nuts. It was such a simple dish, and I had such a heaping mound of spinach on my plate, but somehow it was one of the most memorable and delicious meals I have ever eaten. The filling for this pie is loosely based on that memory. I used chard instead of spinach, because of the added depth of earthy flavor, and because it seems more substantial. And I added pistachios, quite frankly, because I had them! You could just as easily use spinach and pine nuts. The flavor would be different but equally delicious. I added lemon zest to this light yeasted crust, because I think the brightness of lemon zest contrasts nicely with the earthiness of the chard.

Here’s Swiss Chard, by Ed’s Redeeming Qualities, a band we used to listen to when we lived in Boston. I hadn’t thought about them in a while. Thank you, swiss chard, for reminding me!!

Recipe after the jump…
Continue reading →

Green tomato tarte tatin

Posted on by
2

green tomatoes

I made a green tomato tarte tatin at the very end of summer, about a month ago, with big, plump green tomatoes from our garden. (We had so many this year, and so few nice ripe red ones!) It was surprisingly delicious – the tartness of the tomatoes offset by the touch of caramelized brown sugar. I made another last night with the very last of the green tomatoes – small, hard, very green tomatoes, and I have to tell you, it was almost too tart, this tart! No amount of sugar or cooking would sweeten these little tomatoes. I’m going to tell you how I made it, because it was so tasty, but I’d use the bigger, slightly softer tomatoes, that are more likely to succumb to your sweetening advances.

Cooking with green tomatoes signals that bittersweet time of year when summer fades into autumn, so we’ll let Booker T’s Summertime melt into Jackie Mittoo’s beautiful Autumn Sounds.
Continue reading →

vegetarian cornish pasties

Posted on by
13

Turnips!

We got some beautiful little turnips from our CSA, so I decided to make vegetarian cornish pasties. I’ve made them in the past, and I keep tweaking the recipe a bit to add more flavor. Potatoes and crust are both very understated and comforting, but I add some sharper flavors. I add shallots, mixed with herbs and sweetened with balsamic; and turnips, of course; and gruyere cheese, which is pleasantly sharp and nutty. And I added some greens this time, because I love them. I tried to maintain the uncooked-filling rule, though, because it intrigues me.

Here’s Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie, by Belle and Sebastian. I have no idea what they mean by it (and I’m not sure they do, either!) but it fits this blog, if by pastie you mean savory pie (no, Tom Waits, not those kinds of pasties) and by bourgeois you mean thoroughly ordinary.
Belle and Sebastian – Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie

If you’d like to see how it is really done, watch this video. It’s of Kay Bolitho, who cooks at the Port Eliot estate in Cornwall. I love everything about this video! The kitchen is beautiful, and I love the strange little objects around and about. And I love her gentle, measured voice.
Making Pasties in Cornwall

Continue reading →

How it all fits together.

Posted on by
Reply

These are small galettes with an oatmeal – peppercorn crust, and filled with french lentils, mushrooms, sauteed greens, and sharp cheddar cheese. A nice autumn dinner – a little earthy/smokey – warm and comforting, but not too heavy. Easy to put together with the recipes already posted! See! They all work well with each other – that’s the plan! You can make them throughout the week, and use them one day for a pie, and toss some in a salad the next.

Here’s a song that’s not really about food, but I love it. It’s very hopeful about trying something, and I’ve had a very nice week starting this blog. I promise to slow down on the posts!

So…some Nigerian funk…SJob Movement – You Only Live Once

Details on construction after the jump…
Continue reading →