Sunday, September 30, 2012

KBB #31 : 6th Birthday - Savoury Pie



KBB is already 6 years old, congratulations to KBB. I am very proud to be a KBBers. Thank you for being there and always challenge me for something new. 

For The Birthday Celebration of KBB, we were challenged to make Savoury Pastry. And we have to make our own pastry, by referring to  these two recipes by  Chef Gordon Ramsay and Donna Hay.  


Hot Water Pastry
by Donna Hay

150g butter, chopped
160ml water
375g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea flakes

Place the butter and water in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat. Add the flour and salt and stir until a smooth dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Rough Pastry
by Gordon Ramsay

250g strong plain flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
250g butter , at room temperature, but not soft
about 150ml cold water

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub them in loosely. You need to see bits of butter.
Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins in the fridge.
Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don't overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect.
Fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold as before, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins before rolling to use.


For the Pie I pick this recipe :

Chicken and Mushroom Pie
By Sanjeev Bhaskar

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
3 chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
150g/5½oz button mushrooms, quartered
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50g/2oz butter
2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
300ml/½ pint milk
200ml/7fl oz chicken stock
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
freshly ground white pepper
pinch salt
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
500g/1lb 2oz ready-made short-crust pastry
1 free-range egg, beaten

Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and fry until the chicken begins to turn white.
Add the mushrooms and continue to fry until the chicken is golden-brown.
Remove the chicken and mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and fry for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Remove from the heat and set aside with the chicken and mushrooms.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly until it has formed a thick smooth paste (this is called a roux).
Mix the milk and stock together in a jug, then add the nutmeg, white pepper and salt, to taste. Pour the liquid slowly into the flour mixture, whisking all the time until smooth. Simmer over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Stir in the chopped parsley and pour the sauce over the chicken and mushroom mixture. Mix well, then spoon into a pie dish and leave until completely cool.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is the thickness of a pound coin. Brush the edges of the pie dish with beaten egg, lay the pastry on top, press down the edges and trim. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and cut some leaf shapes out of the left-over pastry to decorate the top of the pie.
Make two or three slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape and then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden-brown on top.

For the pie, thankfully I have found no problem at all. It's just that I red the instruction wrongly and put the Donna Hay's pie on top and Gordon's on the bottom. However it still came out nice, and fluffy. Though I believe that it would better if I did the other way around. 

To those of you who would like to try to make your own pastry in a short time, I would recommend the Gordon Ramsay's rough puff pastry. You'll get a nice one within a short time ;)