Recipe of the day: Delicious pies to make throughout the week

Ahead of National Pie Day on 23 January, these pie recipes are great for any occasion and it is the right time to celebrate this puff pastry pie goodness with these savoury dishes. 

To make these pie recipes easier, the recipes incorporate already-made puff pastry. These dishes can also be made throughout the week, great for lunch or dinner.

Pie recipes for National Pie Day

Steak and kidney pie

For the base

• 300g puff pastry
• 1 egg and 1 extra egg yolk beaten together
• For the filling
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 700g braising steak, diced
• 200g lamb kidney, diced
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 30g plain flour
• 850ml beef stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• dash of Worcestershire sauce

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220ºC.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the beef. Set aside, then brown the kidneys in the same pan.
3. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, then return the beef to the pan, sprinkle flour over and coat the meat and onions. Add the stock to the pan, stir well and bring to a boil. Turn the heat right down and simmer for 1½ hours without a lid. If the liquid evaporates, add more stock.
4. When the meat is tender, remove from the heat and add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce then stir and allow to cool completely. Once cooled place the cooked meat mixture into a pie dish.
5. Roll out the pastry to 5mm thick and 5cm larger than the dish you are using. Using the rolling pin, lift the pastry and place it over the top of the pie dish then trim and crimp the edges.
6. Brush the surface with the beaten egg mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately.

ALSO TRY: Recipe of the day: Sausage pie with caramelised onions

Chicken and mushroom pie

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500g chicken thigh fillets cut into 3cm cubes
• 500g punnets mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 50g butter
• 35g plain flour
• 1½ tsp mixed spice
• 500ml milk
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed in the fridge
• 1 egg yolk
• Salt and pepper, to season

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper for 5 minutes until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add the mushrooms, cook until golden then remove and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium. Melt the butter in the pan, then stir in the flour and mix spice. Cook for 1 minute before gradually whisking in the milk until thickened slightly.
3. Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan and season to taste. Cook until sauce thickens (about 2 mins) then transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool.
4. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
5. Remove the pastry sheets from the fridge and cut each sheet in half and place one on top of the other. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry out to a 4mm-thick rectangle that fits the size of a rectangular 1.5- to 2-litre baking dish.
6. Stir the frozen peas through the pie filling mixture to combine then transfer to the baking dish. Place the pastry over the top to cover, pressing down on the edges with a fork to seal in the filling.
7. Make a small cross-incision in the centre of the pie to allow the steam to escape.
8. Brush the egg yolk over the surface of the pie then bake for 35-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
9. Serve immediately.

Pastilla

Ingredients

• 1 package phyllo pastry cut in half
• 3 large chicken thighs trimmed
• 2 large onions diced
• 5 tbsp butter melted
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp saffron
• ½ tsp coriander
• 1 cup parsley chopped
• 2 cups sliced almonds
• 6 eggs whisked
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Sauté onions and garlic in a large bowl on medium heat with olive oil until golden.
2. Add chicken thighs, cinnamon stick, saffron, turmeric, coriander, ginger and salt and pepper. Stir everything together. Add water to cover then turn down the heat and simmer on low-medium, covered, for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
3. Lightly toast the almond slices in a pan and add them to a food processor with ¼ cup icing and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Pulse until it resembles coarse sand and set aside.
4. When the chicken is cooked from the pot, shred, add another ½ teaspoon of turmeric and set aside. Let the remaining ingredients in the pot cook on medium heat, uncovered until reduced by about half.
5. Add whisked eggs and cook, stirring frequently until it resembles a thick paste. Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave.
6. Now bring all components to the counter (melted butter, shredded chicken, egg/onion mixture, cinnamon sugar almond mixture, and sheets of phyllo dough).
7. Place about 8 half-sheets of phyllo pastry in a small oven-proof bowl, lightly brushing with butter between every 2 layers, letting the layers extend out of the bowl.
8. Add a small layer of chicken to the phyllo-covered bowl, then fold over 2 of the phyllo dough sheets to cover the chicken. Lightly brush with butter.
9. Add a layer of onion/egg mixture, fold over another 2 sheets, and brush with oil.
10. Add a layer of almonds, drizzle over some butter, and wrap the remaining phyllo sheets to cover everything and fold tightly, brushing over a small final layer of butter.
11. Repeat these steps with the remaining ingredients depending on how many pastillas you want to make.
12. Cook pastillas for 15 minutes, then carefully remove them from their containers, put them back in the bowls upside-down, brush with butter and place back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until phyllo is crispy on top.
13. When cooked through, remove them from the oven, take them out of their containers and sprinkle the tops with icing sugar before serving.

*These recipes are courtesy of Capsicum Culinary Studio.