National Pie Week: Cheese and onion (gf) pie

Look at 'em go!  There was no stopping them diving into today's cheese and onion pie - for day 1 of national pie week.  The pastry was gluten free so that, for once, we could all share the same dinner - the gluten intolerant, the veg dodger and the veggie … oops, we lactose intolerant decided we would "pay the price" rather than miss out on the cheese pie.

Baby roast potatoes
Steamed carrots and cabbage
Baked beans

… and cheese and onion pie

Pastry

Plain flour
Salt
Butter/ butter substitute
Greek yogurt
Cold water
Soya milk (or dairy milk)

The filling

Onions, sliced
Grated cheese

It's dead easy really.

1.  Make the pastry by rubbing the fat into the seasoned flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs.  If it's too floury, add more cold butter.  If it's too sticky add a little more flour.
2.  To the "breadcrumbs" add a spoonful of greek yogurt and a splash of cold water.  Form into a dough.  Don't handle too much, it makes it go really hard.
3.  Chill for half an hour.
4.  Cut potatoes into chunks, roast in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt for 1 hour.
5.  Prep veg, put on top of a steamed.
6.  Slice onions, grate cheese.
7.  Roll out half the pastry to form the bottom of the pie.  With gf I find it easier to roll onto baking parchment, and then flip over onto the pie dish.  Often you have to neaten out the edges, and mend small breaks by smushing the pastry together.
8.  Spread a little flour in the bottom of the pie - just to stop melted cheese seeping into the bottom.
9.  Starting with a layer of cheese - layer up the pie filling cheese, onion, cheese, onion ending on cheese.
10.  Top with the other half of the pastry, rolled out.  Crimp the edges with a fork, slash the top a little to let the steam out, glaze with soya (or dairy) milk.  Bake for 30-40 minutes at 180.
11.  Turn the heat on under the vegetables and let them steam.
12.  Pop the beans into the oven to heat through.
13.  Serve, scoff … seconds all round.

Pork'n'beans

At Kitchen Fairies HQ at the moment we have 4 people - all with particular dietary requirements.  1 pescatarian, 2 lactose intolerant, 1 gluten free and 1 "salad dodger" carnivore.  This makes dinner preparation an interesting experience.  Tonight I thought - cowboy dinner - but the pork can't touch the beans, and there was some lovely haddock - so the unifying element for everyone was a hearty veggie beanie sauce!  Also, there was cabbage in the fridge which needed using up, so a side dish of cabbage and cumin was included.

It took about 40 minutes start to finish.

Brown rice

Olive oil
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Garlic
Yellow pepper
Turkish beans
Paprika
Chopped tomatoes

Pork
White wine
Quince jelly
American mustard
Chicken stock

Haddock

Cumin
Cabbage

1.  Start the rice - I use the adsorption method - rice + water to about an inch above the rice, bring to the boil.  Lid on tight and keep hot in the oven while everything else finishes off.  It's quite a forgiving method, and the rice can sit there for quite a while as you sort everything else out.
2.  Now for the veg casserole - sautee chopped onion, carrot and celery in olive oil.  Add crushed garlic and chopped pepper, and a pinch of paprika.  Sautee until veg is a bit soft, but not done - then add a tin of beans (I used turkish beans because we had them - but butter beans or haricot would also work - even good old baked beans!) - and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Simmer.
3.  Fry the pork in olive oil, add a splosh of white wine (or apple juice), a spoonful of quince jelly (or apple jelly) and a squirt of american mustard.  A cup of chicken stock will stop it going too dry.
4.  Pan fry the haddock.
5.  Stir fry shredded cabbage in hot oil and cumin.
6.  Gather troops, serve, scoff.

Turnip and blue cheese gratin, dolmades and bean medley

 I will not claim that this was a gourmet dinner which would rival international chefs ... it was OK - all of the separate bit were really quite nice, but it is no masterchef entry.  The combination was prompted by i) left overs ... from the stall - the dolmades and bean salad are lovely (you can eat them all hot or cold) ii) the remnants ... of the veg box and some cheese from earlier cheeseboards and iii) it was COLD today so we wanted something warm.

Recipe - very sketchy, because it really is a "whatever you have" kind of a dinner ....

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil.
Add a pinch of rosemary, and some peeled and diced root veg (turnips, carrot and potato).
Turn over for a minute or so, then add a glass of dry white wine and some stock.  Stir in a spoonfull of mustard.
Simmer for 15 minutes or so, then ad  shredded cabbage.  Simmer again until veg is al dente.
Transfer to oven dish and crumble on a bit of blue cheese, and a bit of cheddar type cheese.
Roast for a bit.
At the same time - put dolmades and bean mix into the bottom of the oven to heat through.

Red pepper and spinach risotto, greek inspired beans

Interesting mix of veg in the fridge, but nothing new purchased and this was delicious.

Risotto

olive oil
chopped onion
chopped red pepper
rice
white wine
crushed garlic
vegetable stock
paella seasoning
splash of chili sauce
big pile of spinach, chopped

Beans

Olive oil
Cannelini beans (would have been butter beans if I had any)
2 bay leaves
crushed garlic
tin of tomatoes
mixed herbs
plenty of black pepper

1. Sautee 2 lots of chopped onion in olive oil - 1 for the risotto, one for the beans.
2.  When a little soft add chopped pepper to the risotto base, and tinned (drained) beans to the bean mixture.
3.  Stir around - add rice to the risotto and stir until all grains are covered in a film of oil.  Add a glass of white wine and simmer.  Then add spice mix (paella/pimento and turmeric), herbs and crushed garlic.  Keep adding stock and stirring as rice cooks (about 25 minutes depending on rice).
4.  After starting 2 add 2 bay leaves, a tin of tomatoes and a half cup of water to the beans (chop tomatoes if they are not chopped).  Simmer.  Add water if its getting dry, but let the beans get nice and soft, season when serving.  (Don't add salt too soon, it will make the bean skins tough).
5.  When ricey mixture is nearly done add chopped spinach, put lid on and leave for 5 minutes (turn off heat).  Stir it in to become properly wilted, but not lose its colour.
6.  Season, scoff (with cheese if you fancy).

Cowboy beans

sigh!  Fresh, delicious, porky beany slow cooked garlicy spicey stew... with nutty rice and a green veg.  AND VICTIM DECLARES PREFERENCE FOR THE PRODUCTS OF THE COMPANY OF 57 VARIETIES!!!! Never mind.  Despite many years of training, old habits and tastes die hard... and victim does keep sneaking contraband into the diet.... SO, putting my disappointment aside - and celebrating the fact that I think it was LOADS better than anything tinned... here is what I did... (OK, last warning... if you prefer plasticised sausges in a tin with sugary sauce - please open your tin - if you want real food with some flavour reading on might be useful....).  We had some pork belly slices in the freezer and none of us are keen on the fat, so I thought a sear - followed by a long slow stew would give tasty results - so chop pork belly into small bite size pieces and brown/sear in hot olive oil.  Add 2 chopped onions and about 4 finely chopped cloves of garlic.  Then added veg - in this case - orange pepper, celery and some nice mushrooms.  Stir in until all coated with pan juices - add herbs, tsp marmite, tsp mustard, big splash Lea and Perrins and whatever hot sauce (tabasco/ BBQ whatever is to hand... to taste), {erm .. if going even more from scratch here you need molasses, vinegar, chili, pepper, salt and other spices to taste) and good grind of black pepper.  Simmer / put in hottish oven if you have other stuff on - for about 30 ins - added soaked / tinned (prepared in a carton from S'sby) - cannelini or flagolet beans - taste - add whatever you think it needs - try salt first, then add herbs/ marmite for complexity - chili/curry powder for heat.  Add tin tomatoes and/or cartons of passata until it all looks OK...  Serve with rice (see the packet!) and a green veg.  Victim complained (unfairly I think, see above) but also commandeered good portion to feed outlaws - and 4 more dinners packed in boxes... so on economy scale I approximate - 65-70p per portion.