The Upper Crust

Perfection in Pies

You would think that discussing pies would be a simple matter of fillings and pastry, but pie purists have much more to say on the subject. The argument is that a true pie has a pastry bottom, sides and top.

Where does that leave Shepherd's Pies and Fish Pies - out on the street according to traditionalists. And what of casseroles with a pastry top - pot pies - so popular on pub food menus. Again, not the real deal they say.

Well, we're not purists and, as you'll know from the tasty twists in many of our sauces, we're not always traditionalists - we just like things simple, honest and above all ... tasty.

Seafood Pie

The purists would turn their noses up at the very thought of us even referring to this as a 'pie'. But we love it.

Boil a handful of halved new potatoes until just tender and set them aside. Bring 370ml of white wine and 500ml of water to the boil and simmer 2 x 340g packs of mixed seafood (thawed) for 5 minutes.

Strain the seafood, setting it aside with the potatoes, reserving 250ml of the broth. Melt a good knob of butter in the pan and soften 2 x finely diced shallots. Make a roux with 2 x tbsp of flour adding 2 x tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard. Gradually add 500ml of milk and the reserved fish stock (reserved cooking liquor).

Spoon the seafood, potatoes and sauce into a baking dish. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry, trim it to the size of the dish, brush it with a beaten egg and pop it onto the filling.  Put this in an oven, pre-heated to 220°C/gas mark 7, for 15 minutes or until the pastry puffs up to a crisp brown top.

Chicken & Mushroom Pie

Soften a diced red onion in half and half oil and butter before adding 8 halved skinless, boneless chicken thighs to brown for 3 or 4 minutes. Add 8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon cut into squares with 1 tsp of thyme leaves.

Cook for a further 5 minutes then, off the heat, stir in 2 tbsp of flour, 2 tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard and 2 tbsp of our spicy grownup Brown Sauce. Gradually add 400ml of chicken stock and 200ml of milk bringing everything to a simmer to thicken the sauce, chicken and bacon mixture. Tip the whole thing into a bowl with 250g of button mushrooms and let it cool.

Stir everything together and spoon it into a baking dish. Roll 500g of puff pastry out to about the thickness of 2 x £1 coins. Cut it to an inch wider than the top of the dish, covering the filling and pinching the pastry tightly around the edges. Brush with a beaten egg, then into an oven, pre-heated to 220°C/gas mark 7, for 30 minutes until the pastry puffs up to a crisp brown topping.

Cottage Pie

Boil 2 or 3 large potatoes until they are just short of done, cool and slice into a collection of discs. Roughly chop and cook 2 x carrots until just soft, setting both the carrots and potato discs aside to cool.

Soften 2 diced shallots in a pan before adding 600g of minced beef until it browns. Add 2 tbsp of Stokes Brown Sauce, 3 tbsp of our Tomato Ketchup, 2 tsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard and 1 tsp or so of thyme leaves. Stir in 2 tbsp of flour then 400ml of beef stock, a glass of red wine and the cooked carrots and simmer for 25 minutes, seasoning to taste.

Tip everything into a baking dish, topping it with overlapping potato discs. Brush the potato topping with milk then into the oven, pre-heated to 200°C/gas mark 6, for 25 minutes or until the potatoes brown and crisp a little. This is fabulous simply served with peas, thawed and warmed in butter with a teaspoon or two of Stokes Mint Sauce.

Great Pies Deserve - A Shake of Great Taste

More foodie thoughts for the week:





St. David's Day - 
These Glamorgan Sausages and much more foodie fun are here to help celebrate the feast of the Patron Saint of Wales - here.







British Pie Week - 
What is a pie without a pickle? Meet the relishes, pickles and condiments for Pies Made Better - here.






 

Brunch, Lunch & Pancakes - 
For some lovely, colourful, delicious ideas conjured up by our innovative kitchen team, just click - here.

If we couldn't make it AMAZING...
we wouldn't make it at all.

FOOD MADE BETTER 
www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150