Potato Pie
500 g Pâte brisée
For the purée:
1 kg potatoes
50 g butter
500 ml milk
Peel the potatoes, cut in cubes and boil in hot water in a heavy-bottomed pan for about 15 min. Drain the water - leave a little bit of water at the bottom of the pan. All the minerals from the potatoes are extracted into the water while boiling. Keeping some will add healthy value to our meal. Put the butter into the pan with the hot potatoes and cover the pan with the lid. Let them rest for 5 min to melt the butter. Mash the potatoes with the butter, adding slowly the milk. Potatoes need to be mashed really well if at tailoring you will use piping on top. Add the milk in portions. As soon as a purée consistency is achieved, stop adding more milk. The quantity will depend on the quantity of water left in the purée. If it became too watery, return over the heat again and stirring constantly, evaporate some of the excessed liquid. Note: This way of "baking" the purée is a great way of making it when served as a garniture without any further processing. For this recipe though, the purée will be baked in the oven, so no additional cooking at this step is required. Leave the purée on a side to cool a bit.
1 onion, chopped
1 ail garlic
500 g lean ground beef
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp savoury
1 tsp freshly grounded black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
Heat some oil in a pan. Cook the onion and garlic until caramelized. Add the ground beef and stir constantly to cook it until all the pieces come apart. The meat will produce some sauce. Add all of the spices. Cover the pan, reduce the temperature at low and simmer for 15 min.Add the flour and tomato paste. Stir to homogenize, cook open at medium for 5 min and leave to cool.
Tailoring:
Take the pâte brisée out of the refrigerator. Cut two wrapping foil sheets, big enough to insure rolling. Roll it 3-5 mm round in between the foil sheets. Make sure the diameter exceeded the diameter of the pan. Remove the upper foil. Turn the dough upside down and cover the bottom and sides of 20 cm ceramic pan for pie, keeping the other foil attached to it. With fingers, press the dough gently on the sides of the pan and the bottom edge. Let the extension fall over the upper edge of the pan. Remove the foil and with the rolling pin, make one roll over the edge of the pan, sticking the dough and making a "scar", showing where the dough should be cut, forming a nice shell. Note: If your pan is with fluted edge, rolling pin is not in use. Just cut precisely at the outer edge of the flute, having them covered completely with it. Refrigerate for 30 min. Collect all the dough that is left after cutting along the edge. Foil and refrigerate.
Remove the pie shell from the fridge. Cover the dough with parchment or wax paper. Fill the pan either with ceramic pie fillers or dry fruits - beens or lentils. Bake at 210C for 7 min. Remove the paper with the beans and return the pie shell in the oven for another baking of 5 min. Let it cool.
Fill the baked shell with the meat mixture. If you are willing to give the dish a blossoming look, pipe rosettes, shells or whatever the mood drives you from the potato purée to cover the whole pie surface. If not - with a fork, distribute the purée evenly on top, A small picks could be make with two forks. Fly with your imagination.
Remember the left over pâte brisée that naps in the fridge? Roll it between two foil sheets and cut whatever shapes you like. Or just model the shapes by hand. Decorate the top of the pie.
Bake at 200C for 20-30 min until the purée becomes golden.
Serve warm.
Bon appétit!
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