Pie fillings

I should mention that if I even want to make more than 1 dish in a day with a pie crust I am to be slapped! With that said, I will put all my pie filling recipes here that were used. I will include the filling for the pasties as well. I will begin with my basic pie dough recipe I use and end with the special dough that should be used for the egg pies.

Basic pie dough, makes 2 crusts.
2/3 cup butter ( soft is OK but it is better firmer)
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
6-7 Tbsp cold water (I mean cold!)

Place the flour in a bowl, add salt and stir.
Blend in the butter with a fork, pastry cutter or even your hands until the mixture is coarse.
Add water 1 Tbsp at a time and blend. You want a soft but not sticky consistency.
The amount of water used will depend on humidity of the kitchen as well as the flour.
Roll out the dough and place in your pie tin, curl up the edges to make the crust. I like to press mine with a fork after.

* when making a single crust use
     1/3 cup Butter
     1 1/4 cup Flour
     Pinch of salt
     3-4 Tbsp cold water

Fillings:

A pie of coleworts (Good Housewife's Jewel)

1 pie crust

24 cups of Kale fresh and dry (can also use spinach, cabbage or other coleworts)
3 Tbsp butter
3 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger

Wilt the kale (if using cabbage salt it and pound it to reduce it and break it up)
Mix with spices, butter and eggs. You can add more spices to taste.

Bake at 170c for approximately 30 min. The crust should be firm and golden.

Mushroom Pie (Le Me'nagier de Paris)

1 pie crust

1 kg mushrooms
6Tbsp Olive oil + oil for sauteing
1 1/2 c cheese (use a blend for best results, we used Gouda, Parmesan and Emmentaler)
3/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Pepper
3/4 tsp Ginger

Saute the mushrooms in a bit of olive oil or butter, drain.
Transfer mushrooms to a bowl and mix with oil, cheese and spices.
Pour into the pie crust and bake at 170c for 35 - 40 min. Until pastry is firm and golden brown.

Tart de Bry (The Forme of Cury)

1 pie crust

6 egg yolks
500 gm Brie (room temp)
1 Tbsp ginger
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp water
1/16 tsp salt

Break up the brie into a bowl.
Sprinkle ginger, sugar and salt on top.
Add the yolks and water.
Mash together with either a fork or your hands to break the brie up well.
Place in the paste and bake at 175c for approximately 50 min or until the cheese is set.

For the pasties: (Hand pies are mentioned in several sources and depicted in several manuscripts, thes particular recipes have no source)

Prepare the pie crust and roll to 3mm (1/8 in) thick and cut into 3 inch rounds. You will get approximately 18 from the recipe.

Beef filling:
500 gm Ground Beef
1/3 cup Currants (or Raisins)
6 Dates pitted and finely chopped
1 Tbsp (heaping) of fresh grated Ginger
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 Tbsp brown sugar (or sugar in the raw)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Pepper (freshly ground)

Turkey or chicken filling:
500 gm ground Turkey
1 Tbsp Fresh green herbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Dill
1/4 tsp Sage
1/8 tsp Salt
Pinch of Pepper

Pork filling:
500 gm ground Pork
1 Tbsp fresh green herbs
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Dill
1/8 tsp Salt
Pinch of pepper

All filling should be made ahead by at least 6 hrs

Have oil on hand for your hands and measuring cup.
Using a 1/4 cup measure (oiled), fill with filling.
Pop out of measure and divide in half
Place 1/2 on a 3 in round, fold over and seal with water and a fork around the edge.
Place on parchment lined baking sheet, brush tops with 1 beaten egg with 1 Tbsp water.
Bake at 175c for 15-20 min until golden brown.

Note: before brushing with egg they can be placed single layer on trays in the freezer, when they are frozen they can be placed in ziploc bags and kept. No need to thaw before baking just add 5-10 min baking time.

Tart of Eggs (the Good Housewife's Jewel)

Filling:
12 Eggs
2 Egg whites (will be leftover from the special crust)
3 Tbsp Rosewater
2 Tbsp Sugar

Special pie crust:
1 1/4 c Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/3  cup Butter
2 Egg yolks
2 Tbsp Rosewater

The instructions for making the crust are the same as for the regular crust except you add the yolks in with the liquid. If the paste is too dry add tsp of water at a time to get right consistency.

Fill the pie crust and bake at 180c for 25-25 min or until the paste and filling are set and a light golden brown.