Try out these two delicious pie recipes on National Pie Day

CALLING all pie lovers! Celebrate National Pie Day this Saturday, 23 January, by whipping up these two delicious recipes.

National Pie Day may be an American celebration but there are no borders when it comes to your favourite food, right?

ALSO READ: 5 diets to help you shed the December weight

This day is an annual celebration of pies introduced in America since the 1970s by Boulder, Colorado nuclear engineer, brewer and teacher, Charlie Papazian after he declared his own birthday (23 January) to be National Pie Day.

Since 1986, National Pie Day has been sponsored by the American Pie Council.

Try out the two listed recipes below for lunch or dinner on Saturday.

Moroccan butternut, mushroom and nut phyllo pot pie – (serves four)
Serve with fresh coriander leaves

Ingredients
15ml butter
150g button or portabellini mushrooms, quartered
100g baby mushrooms
5ml paprika
5ml ground cumin
salt and milled black pepper
500g roasted butternut, cubed
125g feta cheese
45ml dukkah
50g flaked almonds, toasted and crumbled
45ml fresh coriander, chopped

Phyllo pot pie
45ml olive oil
6 sheets phyllo pastry, trimmed into large squares
30ml white sesame seeds

Filling
Heat the oil and butter in a pan and fry the mushrooms and button mushrooms for 5 minutes.
Add the paprika and ground cumin and cook for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the remaining ingredients.
Gently combine and set aside.

Phyllo pot pie
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
Brush the sheets of phyllo pastry lightly with olive oil and arrange on top of each other in an overlapping stack.
Place the cooled filling in the centre of the pastry and enclose the filling in the pastry.
Brush the top with olive oil and scatter the sesame seeds over the top.
Transfer the pie to a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden and crispy.

SAMFA mushroom, leek and lager beef pie – (serves 6)
Ingredients
1kg beef chuck, cut into 2.5cm chunks
4 leeks, washed well and sliced
2 stalks celery, finely sliced
2 carrots, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup flour
300ml lager
2 cups/500ml beef stock
Handful fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
500g thickly sliced button or portabellini mushrooms
1-2 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Method
1 Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large heavy-based pot. Add the beef and brown all over. Cook in batches to avoid the beef sweating. Set aside.
2 Turn heat down to medium and add a fresh drizzle of olive oil. Add leeks, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook until softened and sweet.
3 Add flour and stir through, coating all the vegetables. Add beer, beef stock, thyme and bay leaves and mix well.
4 Bring to simmer and then cover. Reduce heat to low and allow to cook for 2 hours until the beef is tender.
5 Remove the lid and allow sauce to reduce until thickened. Add mushrooms and mix them in to evenly distribute. Taste and adjust seasoning.
6 Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C. Pour pie filling into a pie/baking dish. Top with puff pastry. Cut out a few steam holes. Brush with egg wash and bake for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden brown and cooked through.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

For news straight to your phone invite us:

WhatsApp – 060 784 2695

Instagram – zululand_observer