BLT Pie #FoodieExtravaganza

Foodie Extravaganza{Party}'s February 2016 event is 'Pie' or as the lovely Wendy Klik of 'A Day in the Life on the Farm' coined it as 'Bye Bye Miss American Pie'. Wendy that song has been playing in my head for a while since your event posting now :D. Thank you whole heaps Wendy for this theme. What came as a challenge in this dish was the Butter Crust that I chose to make and now I am confident of whipping up a fabulous butter crust anytime.

The first 'Wednesday' of every month, Foodie Extravaganza {Party} hosts a theme based cook-off where food bloggers come together to celebrate the food event of the month from the American National Food Holidays. 

I know Wendy said that we need not constrict ourselves to American Pie and the theme title came only as a result of the song. But I wanted to challenge myself to make an All-American Pie and BLT just popped up in my head. Of course the 'L' in BLT stands for Lettuce but to introduce lettuce into a pie filling would just make it mushy. I needed something firm but similar to lettuce. Enter a passing moment at the grocers where a lady asked the vendor whether a cut of leaves were lettuce. He informed her that it was Chinese Cabbage. 

Then I remembered why not Leek too. I also wanted the pie filling to reflect a breakfast meal of bacon, eggs and maybe some potatoes on the side. Egg of course came on top of the pie crust. I then introduced some cheese. In fact I decided it would be two kinds of cheese. 

I have to admit I struggled with my first try of the butter pie crust but then I remembered my Christmas Shortbread cookies and well yes you probably guessed right, the second try was a breeze. 

The only thing I would do next time is if I plan on Bacon or Pork or anything else as fatty as protein, then I would not go with a Butter Crust as it can be quite filling. Well that is why the serving number on this dish went up. Otherwise it would be 4-6 adults. 

The Butter Pie Crust would go well with fruit or nuts or both. 

Well let me not go on and on with the background story and get on to the recipe:


You need:

For the Pie crust:

• 21/2 cups of flour (plus additional for dusting/sprinkling)
• 16 tbsp of cold butter, chopped in cubes *(refer notes)
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 6-7 tbsp of ice cold water

For the Pie filling:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 600 gms of bacon, diced
• 2 medium sized potatoes, skinned and chopped into cubes
• 3 large tomatoes, diced into cubes
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 bulbs of leek, diced (include the edible leaves too)
• 1 cup thick tomato puree
• 1 egg, beaten or 2 tbsp milk
• Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheese - 2 tbsp each
• A good shake of pepper

The Make:

Please take a note of the notes below before attempting to make your Pie.

For the Pie crust:
1. In a large bowl, take the flour, salt and butter cubes*(refer notes) and mash with your finger tips into the flour till combined and no dry flour left aloof in the bowl.
2. Next add the water bit by bit into the flour until well-combined and the dough formed. The water is used as a binder. Wrap in cling film and transfer to the fridge to remain cool till you prepare the table top for the next steps.
3. Prepare the counter top or your silicone baking mat by sprinkling some flour on top. Make sure if you are using your counter top to keep it clean and free off any materials. Preheat the oven at 180°C.
4. Sprinkle some flour on the pie dish as well. You can use any kind of pie dish, I used to bottom shifting, 9.5" pie crust tray that belong to Mummy. Since there is sufficient butter in the pie crust you do not need to butter your pie dish.
5. Take out the pie dough, cut in half and place one half in the center of the prepared mat or on the counter top and with a rotating motion of the fleshy part of your palm, just gentle roll on top.  Return the other half of the pie dough to the fridge.
6. Next press the dough ball down and roll using a lightly floured rolling pin, making sure to turn it over each time you roll flat. Make sure to evenly roll out. Once it has reached about 8" you would need to flip it using the side of your mat.  Since I used a 9.5" pie dish, I needed to roll it to almost 12 inches for the bottom crust to ensure the sides of the pie dish are covered. 
7. If you find that your dough is tearing up slightly while flipping, stop and then mend and then flip over and roll till you reach your desired size. Then flour your rolling pin once more and sprinkle some flour on top the rolled pie dough. Using both hands, gently place one end of the rolled pie dough over the rolling pin and without pressing on the dough lift the dough off the mat and rest it well onto the pie dish, making sure to blanket the sides well and to go over the top edges of the pie dish. Any extra dough hanging off the pie dish can be cut off. You could use the extras to fix any holes of the top crust or can be baked on a tray with some sugar and cinnamon on top as an in-between baking treat ;) .
8.  Blind bake the prepared dough for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the filling of the pie.

For the Pie Filling:
8. Heat a pot and add the butter followed by the potatoes and bacon. Saute for about a minute and add in the remaining ingredients except the puree and saute well for about 5 minutes. Add the puree and cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Uncover and allow to cook to room temperature or until warm.

9. Next place the filling inside the prepared pie dish, toss in some pieces of cheddar and roll out the top crust of the pie. Follow the same steps as for the bottom crust and place well over the filled pie dish and seal the edges well. With the tip of your kitchen blade draw a cross on the top of the pie crust. I added a few pieces of mozzarella there.

10. Brush the beaten egg or milk on top of the pie crust, grate some mozzarella on top if desired and place into the oven at 180°C. Make sure to take your oven spill tray and place it on the rack just above the pie rack (only in case you are using an oven with only bottom heat). Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check to see if you have achieved a golden crust or a dark brown one in case you are using milk.

Slice and serve hot with your favourite dips/sauces. Bon Appetit!


Notes:
1. Time to bake will depend on the type of oven you have. In case you have an oven with only lower heat and no upper, this may take up to 1 hour and 20 minutes.
2. For those of you who do not have an upper heat coil in your oven, then you need the spill tray or oven tray to cover your pie dish to get an even colour on your pie crust.
3. The butter used in the recipe has to be cold, which is why once you chop the same please transfer it to the oven to remain cold.

So that is my Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Pie or BLT Pie. This was what was for dinner last night.

Take a look at the gorgeous pies our Foodie Extravaganza Party has brought to the table today:

• BLT Pie by Georgina of G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Cheddar Leek Potato Pie by Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Cheeseburger Pie by Kathleen at Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Grapefruit Pie by Rebekah at Making Miracles
• Ham and Broccoli Quiche by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homegrown Blackberry Pie by Carlee of Cooking with Carlee
• No Bake Peanut Butter Pie by Lauren of From Gate to Plate
• Peaches and Cream Pie by Elaine at Cookin and Craftin
• Penne Pie by Terri at Our Good Life
• Red Velvet Pudding Pie by Teri of The Freshman Cook
• Tar Heel Pie by Tara of Tara's Multicultural Table
• The Impossible Coconut Pie by Stacy of Food Lust People Love
• Walnut Crumble-Topped Apple Tart by Caroline at Caroline's Cooking

Pepper Chicken drumsticks in a light Tomato gravy

I had made this chicken dish as an accompaniment for the Carrot-Coconut rice.

My little one prefers the drumstick pieces of the chicken. So she asked,  "Mama, why can't you buy just the drumsticks?" And so I did. I had a little fun at it too. When she actually expressed how she enjoyed this make (when Dad was over last weekend), I had a bit of fun saying, "Hey see Mama found a chicken who had only legs and that's why there are so many in this gravy!" :D She is too smart for me though! She caught me out in less than a minute.

Although I ventured to make this recipe in my mum's way, I realised that it was not possible without red chili powder, so I just took the inspiration and ran a modified version to the same recipe to accommodate both Daddy's and Isabelle's taste buds and tummies. I will add Mum's complete version once I have tried the same.

This recipe calls for a slow cooking process to add more flavour.

You need: 

• 14 pcs of chicken drumsticks, cleaned and slit across the fleshy part of the drumsticks
• 2 medium onions, diced finely
• Salt to taste
• 2 medium size tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp Garam Masala
• 1-2 cups of drinking water
• Oil to drizzle

The Make:

1. In a large non-stick pan, drizzle some oil. Toss in the onions on medium heat and saute well until translucent.
2. Next toss in the chopped tomatoes and lower the heat.
3. Saute on low heat and then add the salt and all the spices. Cover and allow to cook slowly on low heat.
4. Uncover and add in the chicken pieces in about 2-3 minutes and cover the pan once more and continue to cook slowly for the next 40 minutes.* Add water as required only. Most likely you would not need to as the chicken releases the liquids which makes for a very nice gravy.
5. Once cooked, turn off the heat and serve hot with rice or rotis.

Enjoy!!

*Note:
 i. If I had used the whole chicken, it had to be cut into small sized pieces and would take an hour and a half over slow cooking process to get this recipe right.

Spicy, Tangy and Crispy Roasted Chicken

The last two weeks were super busy what with Easter, my little one's school annual day and my falling ill right after my little one fell ill. I actually had a very special recipe to share with you for Easter. I had failed to share it for Christmas 2014 (when it was actually made) or New Year 2015. I guess I just may share it before the next festive occasion. I also have a huge number of recipe creations archived and waiting to be shared with you. And yes my #vegetarian friends, I still have the whole heaps of recipes as promised to share with you that I tried over the 50 days of #Lent.  I thought of sharing this one first after the #Lent break. Trust you all have had a wonderful Easter celebration. School's out now so I hope I do get as much time with the blog as I had imagined!

I have no idea how time flies but it sure does! This recipe is inspired from one of my Mum's recipes of Crispy chicken (I will share the original recipe soon *fingers crossed*). I had started preparing the chicken quite late so you see there was a pinching into the chicken from the little one who could not resist to wait till I finished clicking pictures. Your home does get quite aromatic from this roast. 

To make this simple roast, 

You need:

• 1 kg full chicken, skin-on (cleaned well)
• 1/2 cup of plain yoghurt (curds)
• 1 tbsp smoked Paprika powder
• 1 tbsp of Cheddar Cheese powder
• 1 tbsp of Garlic powder
• 1 tbsp of Ginger powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tomato, chopped and ground to a pulp
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• Breadcrumbs
• 1 cup of wheat flour
• Oil for greasing

The Make:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: Up to 1 hour, 15 minutes| Serves 3-4 adults

Although I made a full roasted chicken, you could choose to cut the chicken in to large or medium pieces thereby reducing the cook time to 45 minutes to 1 hour.

1. Leave the cleaned chicken in a colander to drain off any excess water. Then pat dry with a kitchen towel.

2. Add all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs in a large, wide bowl (large enough to hold the whole chicken) and whisk to a batter.

3. Next carefully, bathe the chicken in the batter. Make sure to cover all the crevices of the chicken and the inner cavity as well. 

4. On a large walled plate, scatter the breadcrumbs. Next pick the battered chicken carefully, holding it over the bowl to allow any excess to drip back to the bowl. 

5. Carefully roll the chicken onto the breadcrumbs covering every crevice. You can also stuff the cavity with some aromatics such as lemon wedges or rosemary.

6. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the chicken onto a lightly greased baking tray (or a greased aluminium foil paper, although I prefer the former) and roast for 1 hour. Check intermittently through the oven window to ensure that there is no burning. This works well in case of an oven that lights both on the top and bottom. If not you may need to turn the chicken, breast side down after 30 minutes of roasting.

7. Serve hot with your favourite bread rolls, salad and in my case Hummus.
*Note: For kids, you may want to reduce the smoked paprika to 1/2 tbsp (although smoked paprika is not as spicy)

Okra, Drumsticks and Chow Chow in tangy Tomato stew

Chayote or best know in India as Chow Chow is a rich in Vitamin C whether raw or cooked. It has several names (from all over the world) including but not limited to choko, pipinola, ishkus, guatila, sayote, etc.Okra or Lady's fingers adds nutrition in terms of Vitamin A, B-6, C, D, Iron, Magnesium and Calcium. Drumstick (Moringa Oleifera) is yet another vegetable which is a rich source of several vitamins, minerals, protein, etc. This combination of Iron with rich Vitamin C sources ensures higher chances of iron absorption.

Growing up drumsticks were my favourite vegetable be in the form of its pods or leaves. My mom had no issues in my having vegetables unlike some parents who have to fuss over their kids not having their greens. She did have to force my sister though who was a die hard non-vegetarian. Ok before she kicks me (virtually), I better not add to it. I used to refer to the drumstick as 'nyum nyum'. Now my darling little one too is a fan of this vegetable. She enjoys the leaves too. These days it is not sold in the market at metros however my folks give me a good supply when I visit Kerala. It is eaten treasured by us.

There was no shortage of supply of both the leaves and pods owing to the fact that we had a huge drumstick tree growing out in our garden (even though we lived in Dubai, UAE). It also was a source of supply for the neighbours, strangers and such. I remember my mom yelling at strangers picking from our tree who shamelessly went about their business of picking despite the yelling.

There is no source of this recipe, it was been tried due to nutritional factors, tested to improve repeatedly and enjoyed by us several times in our home.

You need:

• 8-10 sticks of drumsticks, peeled and cut into pieces (1 stick makes about 3-4 pieces)
• 3 medium sized chow chow, diced finely
• 1/2 kg lady's fingers, chopped into bite sizes
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2" ginger, crushed
• 3-4 large tomatoes, finely diced
• 1/2 cup of tomato puree
• 2 green chilies (slit lengthwise)
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri Chili powder or Paprika powder
• 1/2 tbsp Amchur (Dry Mango Powder)
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder
• 2 tbsp tamarind water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, diced
• Salt
• 2 - 4 cups drinking water

The Make:

Serves 5 adults | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

1. In a wok, add the oil and splutter the cumin seeds and add diced onion for a minute or until translucent.
2. Next add the ginger, garlic, green chilis and saute for about a minute.
3. Add the lady's finger and saute well for about 5 minutes.
3. Toss in the tomatoes and blend in until softened.
4. Add the dry spices and saute for about a minute. Add in the tomato puree and salt.
5. Next add the chow chow and drumsticks and cover and cook for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat.
6. Add the tamarind water and drinking water as required for the gravy and cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes taking care not to over soften the veggies.
7. Toss well and serve with rice, rotis or your choice of flat bread.

Bon Appetit!

Tuna in Spiced Tomato gravy

Ok no excuses this time! It has been almost a month since my last post. I have been whipping up several exotic creations, some failed and crashed. Although I had mentioned in my last post on G'Gina's Kitchenette's Facebook page of a sweet surprise, that did not happen as it was one of the ones that crashed and burned. The specialist who was to fix my grill and oven has been avoiding the visit due to heavy rains we have been experiencing here. I promise to come back to the sweet delights soon enough!

This one is a Spanish inspiration. With the monsoons coming in, one of my dear readers had suggested some wholesome warm recipe creations. If you love fish, this would definitely be up your alley. If not you can substitute with chicken or eggplant or even whole boiled eggs. Of course the cooking time would be reduced accordingly.

You need:

• 1 kg tuna, preferably skinned, filleted and cut into medium size pieces
• 4-5 medium sized tomatoes,skinned and de-seeded
• 1 large red onion, cut into 4 quarters
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, skinned and crushed
• 2 tbsp red paprika powder
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey (optional)
• 1 red capsicum (habanero ), deseeded and diced
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander (Cilantro) leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, picked and chopped
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 cup drinking water

The Make:

Cooking Time: 40 minutes | Preparation Time : 10 minutes | Serves 6-7

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet/foil and toss with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer baking sheet to the oven. Cook until the tomatoes are slightly charred, turning occasionally in 20 minutes.

2. Bring it to room temperature and then transfer all the ingredients from the baking sheet/foil to a blender along with the paprika powder, habanero, cilantro, white wine vinegar, honey (optional) and mint. Blend until smooth. Season with salt taking care not to add too much as the tomatoes have already has been seasoned.

3. Next drizzle some of the remaining oil in a claypot or non-stick deep bottomed pot. Rub some salt and pepper on the tuna pieces and lightly saute giving 2 minutes on each side adding the remaining oil as required. Pour in the blended mix to the tuna pieces and cook for no more than 15-20 minutes. Add water as required and bring to boil.

Serve hot with Spanish rice or any other rice of your choice, pasta or flatbread of your choice.

Spicy Lamb Sausage with Cucumber and Tomato Salsa

This recipe is inspired by Masterchef Australia's Poh Ling Yeow. This amazing treat from Poh makes for an excellent breakfast meal. I used the remaining mix to make a new treat which I will share with you once G'Gina's Kitchenette's Theme Breakfast week completes.

You need:

For the sausage:

• 2 tablespoons toasted fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons toasted coriander seeds
• 500g lamb or beef mince
• 500g pork mince * for those that do not use pork, you can also make this only with lamb mince or include chicken mince
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika
• ½ cup chopped coriander leaves, reserve the stalks
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon dried red chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 3 - 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Eggs - 4 to 6

For the Salad

• 1 large ripened tomato, diced
•  1 large cucumber, sliced or diced
• 1 tablespoons chopped mint
• 1 tablespoons finely chopped coriander stalks
• 1 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Tip: Make sure all the leaves/herbs are finely diced as they would break the doughnut mince or would be difficult to mould. Also make sure that once the leaves and herbs are washed and cleaned, that they are well-dried as well to make the perfect rounded doughnut mince.

The make

Serves 4 to 6 adults | Preparation time: 5-6 minutes | Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Source: Poh's Kitchen (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/stories/s3322745.htm )

Spicy Lamb Sausage

1. Toast fennel and coriander seeds until fragrant and smokey (do not burn). This takes about a minute. Grind the toasted ingredients to a fine powder.

2.This is an important step. Combine all the ingredients and hand mix for about 5 minutes.  In mixing the ingredients, you can even throw mixture at high speeds towards the bowl, but make sure you do not miss! Tip: Make sure that your cleaned and rinsed mince is free of any water content.

This process of massaging the mince will bind the ingredients together in the absence of a binding agent such as egg. It will also develop the proteins, an important, handy technique for sausage making. The result would be a really sticky mince mixture. At this point you may choose to shape the mince into hand shaped sausages, a kabab sphere shape or a doughnut shape. Poh suggests if you are having some trouble handling the stickiness, wet your hands a little. She is right!

3. Place the doughnut meat on a medium hot, lightly greased skillet.

4. Brown one side and then flip it on the other side.

5. Next, immediately crack an egg into the center of the doughnut. Cook completely and serve with  toasted bread of your choice and fresh tomato and cucumber salad.

This quantity makes about 10 burger patties, 20 sausages and about 12 doughnuts. In case you have any leftover mince, shape to preferred size and shape and freeze in an airtight container with plastic sheets separators between the mince shapes.

Salad

Combine all ingredients and toss lightly. Serve on the side of the Spicy Lamb Sausage.

Bon Appetit!

Homemade Tomato Puree

There are several ways to make Tomato Puree. I chose the easier make that I have used since last 2 decades. I do buy the canned version however this recipe is useful in case I do not have much time to run to the store and is lighter than the store variety. Also it lacks all the added preservatives in the store-bought version! You can add modifications here where you can add either grated ginger or garlic or dried herbs such as oregano or parsley which will be an added flavour to your tomato puree.

Homemade Tomato Puree 

Ingredients

• 3  medium sized, fully ripe tomatoes



E.g. of one tomato shown

• 1 bowl of boiling water - just enough to cover the tomatoes
• Salt, Sugar and Vinegar (optional)
• Stock cubes, onions, garlic, parsley, etc for extra flavour (optional)

Method

1. Take out the eye of the tomatoes. Run the tip of the knife to make a cross at the bottom of each of the tomatoes.

Tomato crossed out and soaked in boiling water

2. Place the tomatoes in boiling water and allow the skin to wrinkle.


3. Drain and run the tomatoes through cool water. Skin the tomatoes and set aside. You can optionally leave the skin on as some prefer the skin on. You can also optionally de-seed the tomatoes and juice to allow for a thicker puree. It also makes the puree a darker red in colour if you remove the seeds and the juice.

Peeled off tomato with skin set aside

4. Grind the skinned tomatoes into a paste form. Add the same strained water used to boil the tomatoes if required to make a thinner puree, otherwise use as is.

Peeled off after soaking in boiling water

5. Boil the puree and with vinegar, salt and sugar optionally for up to 30 minutes on a low flame depending on the thickness required. 

I have not added any water to the puree and turned out to be thick as was required for one of the recipes I was set to make.

Homemade Tomato Puree

Allow to cool and then bottle or transfer to a suitable container to refrigerate.

I made mine one day in advance but this puree would last at least for 3-5 days (again depending on what you add to the mix, for e.g. if you add  vinegar, it would go on to last for weeks).

Closeup of Tomato Puree