Emma How the humble pie has grown in stature over the years, with an amazing food journey in our food memories. It has been elevated to a gourmet pie with even competitions being created around the standard of pastry and filling!
Have you ever considered pies to share when you are having lunch or dinner? No one can resist the smell of a home-baked pie with a delicious pie crust whether you are at home or in a restaurant.
Pies have made a huge comeback even appearing on the menu of fine dining restaurants.
My childhood recollections of pies on the menu in our house were ‘mince rounds’ purchased from the local butcher or a family steak pie on New Year’s Day – chosen because it was cooked with minimal effort after busy Christmas festivities. Of course, these still exist and local butchers still offer excellent choices, but there are now new versions of the traditional pie.
Chefs, cooks and bakers or cook-at-home strive to excel at creating an excellent pastry base
complemented by a unique pie filling with all the best flavours and ingredients. Whether it be sweet or savoury – the choices are amazing.
Here are a few to try:
Sweet shortcrust pastry – standard pastry (easy to make). Ideal for sweet pies, especially fruit combinations or even nuts.
Puff pastry – more difficult. This is a wonderful pastry for savoury pies such as meat, chicken or roasted vegetables.
Hot Water Pastry – mainly used in the traditional pork pies, large or small.
Of course, this is not a complete list but a good basis to start. You can even use shop-bought pastry to create your ideal pie.
If however, you find creating your own pie at home can be daunting or time-consuming then there are many fine dining establishments that have also embraced the idea of the pie on the menu. The Borough restaurant in Edinburgh specialises in tasty pie offerings for you to share, with a contemporary bistro serving wine and a seasonal set menu using locally sourced ingredients. Check out their website www.boroughrestaurant.com for more details on when their pie options are on the menu.
