Bake That Thing! - Spring Pies with Robyn & Andrey Marney
In crust we trust.
Ingredients:
- 250 g cake flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 250 g very cold salted butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
- 125-150 ml ice-cold water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
How To Make Homemade Rough Puff Pastry
1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add one-third of the cold butter and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Add the remaining butter cubes and toss lightly to coat them in flour, leaving the pieces clearly visible.
3. Mix the ice-cold water and lemon juice. Add it gradually, stirring with a palette knife or butter knife, until the dough begins to clump together. Use only as much liquid as needed.
4. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gently press it together into a rough rectangle. Do not knead.
5. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
6. Roll the dough away from you into a long rectangle, roughly three times as long as it is wide. Keep the edges as straight as possible.
7. Brush off excess flour. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down over it, like a letter.
8. Turn the dough 90 degrees so the folded edge is on the side. Roll and fold again.
9. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes. Repeat the roll, fold and turn twice more, chilling the dough if the butter begins to soften.
10. After four folds in total, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling and using.
Clem’s Rough Puff Tips:
– Keep the butter, water, bowl and dough as cold as possible.
– Visible butter pieces create steam in the oven, which lifts and separates the layers.
– Roll with steady pressure and avoid crushing the pastry edges.
– Brush away loose flour before every fold so the layers stick together.
– If the dough springs back or the butter softens, stop and chill it before continuing.
Ingredients:
Rough Puff:
- 1 batch homemade rough puff pastry, chilled
- 1 egg, beaten, for brushing
Marinade:
- 125 ml full-fat plain yoghurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 750 g skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
Filling:
- 2 tbsp ghee or butter
- 250 ml tomato passata
- 250 ml fresh cream
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
- 100 g feta, crumbled
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped
How To Make Butter Chicken, Feta & Coriander Pie
1. Combine all the marinade ingredients with the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
2. Heat the ghee or butter in a large frying pan over high heat. Lift the chicken from the marinade and cook for about 3 minutes, or until white all over. Reserve the marinade.
3. Add the passata, cream, sugar, salt and reserved marinade. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thick. Cool completely.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 C and lightly grease a 23 cm pie dish.
5. Divide the chilled pastry into two pieces, with one slightly larger than the other. Roll the larger piece to about 3 mm thick and use it to line the pie dish, leaving a small overhang.
6. Spoon in the cold butter chicken filling. Scatter over the feta and coriander.
7. Roll out the remaining pastry and place it over the filling. Trim, seal and crimp the edges. Cut a few small steam vents in the top and brush with beaten egg.
8. Chill the assembled pie for 15 minutes, then bake for 35-40 minutes, or until deeply golden, crisp and piping hot in the centre. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Ingredients:
- 2 rolls ready-made shortcrust pie pastry, chilled
- 3 1/2 cups fresh or frozen mixed raspberries, blueberries and blackberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
How To Make Triple Berry Lattice Pie
1. Add the berries, sugar and lemon juice to a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warm and juicy.
2. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the berry liquid into a bowl. Whisk in the cornflour until smooth.
3. Bring the berries back to a gentle simmer. Slowly stir in the cornflour mixture and cook for 2-5 minutes, taking care not to crush the fruit, until thickened.
4. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and cool completely.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Use one roll of pastry to line a 23 cm deep pie dish. Spoon in the cooled berry filling.
6. Roll the second pastry sheet lightly and cut it into even strips. Lay half the strips across the pie in one direction. Fold back every second strip, lay one strip across in the opposite direction, then return the folded strips. Repeat, alternating the strips, to create the lattice.
7. Trim the excess, press the lattice and base together, and crimp the edge. Brush lightly with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake for about 35 minutes, checking after 25 minutes. Loosely cover the top with foil if the pastry is browning too quickly.
9. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing so the filling can set.