Bacon and Egg Pie

Most New Zealander’s I know love a slice of bacon and egg pie. I wouldn’t call this so much a recipe as I would an assemblage. There is nothing too challenging about making a bacon and egg pie and you probably won’t ever need this recipe. It does however hold a strong place in my heart so to me, belongs on my blog.

This recipe makes for a really quick and easy lunch or light meal. Combined with a nice salad, you have your self a pretty delicious meal.  My Mum would actually be horrified I am even sharing this recipe because it is literally make and bake.

I used the very easy store-bought puff pastry (Mum would also be horrified at this) but the flaky pastry recipe in the Edmonds Cookery book is pretty easy so if you have a bit of time..

I don’t really have too much more to say about this! Enjoy.

Bacon and Egg Pie

• 400 gram packet of store-bought flaky puff pastry
• 200 gram packet of shoulder bacon
• 5 medium-sized eggs
• Salt and pepper

Roll out half the puff pastry on a floured board until you have yourself a lovely rectangle. Lift off the board and shape into a sprayed oven dish. Line the dish with strips of the bacon so the pastry is evenly covered. Crack 5 eggs over the bacon and break up the yolks with a knife. Roll out the second half of the puff pastry and lay over the pie.

Bake at 180 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.

Do you like Frittata?

If you do, try this easy Spinach and Leek Baked Frittata.

A frittata is mostly like an omelette except without the fuss of that folding over thingee that you do with omelets. The thingee that in 25 years….I haven’t quite mastered…which is kind of why I prefer frittata. I guess a frittata is almost a cross between a quiche (a family staple I grew up on!) and an omelette. You sort of get the best of both worlds, except healthier. Bonus.

It’s flat and usually thicker than an omelette, with a lot more stuff in it. Making a frittata is a good way to use up those odds and ends of vegetables and cheese that might otherwise get thrown away. Spinach? Leek? Courgette? Mushrooms? Feta? You name it..a frittata can be whatever you want it to be!

I’ve always been a big fan of eggs in all their forms, scrambled, boiled (with soldiers of course) and especially poached. In fact I make an egg-related dish pretty much once a week. It is such a fast weeknight meal and you can usually make it with ingredients that you already have in the fridge! Total money saver right there.

The following recipe is very basic but totally reliable. It is wonderfully delicious AND super simple. Double win.

Spinach and Leek Baked Frittata

You can serve this frittata warm or cold with roasted tomatoes or a leafy salad. It’s also a great finger food, cut into small squares.

• 250 grams baby spinach leaves
• 1 whole leek, thinly sliced
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 100 ml skim milk
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray a 20cm square non-stick cake tin with oil. Line base with baking paper. Cook spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds, or until just wilted. Drain and squeeze out any excess water. Allow to cool, then roughly chop.

Cook leek for 3 minutes in same cooking water. Drain and allow to dry. Scatter spinach and leek into bottom of tin.

Beat eggs with cornflour and milk. Season well with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over vegetables, pressing down with back of a fork. Scatter over cheese and bake for 20 minutes, or until risen and golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn out. Serve warm, cut into wedges with a green salad. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.

Louise Cake

I’m a little over slice, to be honest. So this will be the last one I will post about for a while. Plus I’ve decided I am going to be slightly more inventive in 2012! Kitchen-wise anyway. I was gifted by my lovely sister a subscription to the award-winning Cuisine magazine for Christmas so I can’t wait to see what treats turn up in my letterbox each month. I’m certainly looking forward to it and for a whole 12 months….exciting!

Now Louise Cake is something that I wasn’t too familiar with pre-December. I always thought it looked very beautiful in all its meringue-laden glory. And we all know that beautiful looking food often takes time to make said food so beautiful.

Well, I surprised myself. This slice is one of the easiest I’ve ever made and it is pretty darn good! Along with Ginger Slice, Louise Cake is another New Zealand favourite consisting of a thin layer of cake topped with raspberry jam, coconut meringue and then baked in the oven. Who’d say no to that?

It was everything I’d imagined and more..thanks to Mr. Simon Holst for the recipe!

Louise Cake

For the base:
100g softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup standard (plain) flour

For the filling:
1/2 cup good-quality raspberry jam (I used Anathoth Raspberry Jam and highly recommend)

For the topping:
2 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup coconut shreds

Heat oven to 160 degrees, with the rack just below the middle of the oven. Line the sides and bottom of a pan about 18x28cm with baking paper, allowing enough extra paper on the sides for lifting the cooked slice out, or spray a 23cm square loose-bottomed pan.

For the base, put the softened butter and sugar in a food processor or large bowl. Separate two eggs, adding the yolks to this mixture (and put the whites in a clean medium-sized bowl to use for the topping). Add the vanilla essence, mix the egg yolks through the softened butter and sugar, then add the two flours and mix again until evenly crumbly. Tip crumbly mixture into prepared pan and press down evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.

For the topping, beat the egg whites and vanilla until frothy, then add the sugar and beat until the tips of peaks turn over when the beater is lifted from them. Then fold half a cup of the coconut evenly through the meringue.

Spread the jam over the warm shortcake. Drop the meringue in spoonfuls on top, then spread evenly with a knife. Sprinkle with the remaining coconut. Bake for about 15 minutes at 160C (150C for fan bake) or until the meringue feels crisp and is evenly and lightly coloured. Cool completely before cutting into pieces.

Mini Quiches

Quiche. It can be eaten at any time during the day. Breakfast? Yum! Lunch? Great! Dinner? Delicious! A quiche is a bit like a good club sandwich – an oldie but a goodie and quite a kiwi one at that!

One night this week, dinner consisted of mini quiches in homemade pastry shells with mushrooms, diced onions, bacon, sun dried tomatoes and a sprinkling of cheese. To lighten the meal up a bit I served it with a green salad.

Quiche is one of my favourite things to make and these are so adorable and much more fun than a regular old quiche! As a child I remember going to great Aunt’s house in Eastbourne, Wellington. She had set up a little tea party for my two older sisters and me. We each had our own individual teacup, saucer and teapot (with hot blackcurrant!). I remember walking away thinking that was just the bee’s knees. It could have been partly to do with having two siblings and having to share everything..yeah, I was no good at that but that summer afternoon made so much sense, everything was all right with my 7 year old world.

To cut the long story short, since then I’ve always liked meals that are presented as individual portions (these days it is never a sharing issue, more aesthetically pleasing presentation!). Anything in ramekins like mini pot pies – fish or chicken and leek I just love. MMMmmm.

These little gems are just so damn tasty but you can decide for yourself. The idea is to be creative and play with ingredients! I used a 12-hole muffin pan for this basic quiche recipe. I cut out square pieces of pastry and just kind of free formed the crust. I love making a quiche and it is such a great staple for the ultimate kiwi summertime picnic. Amen.

Mini Quiches

For the pastry crust:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• 50 grams of butter, softened
• 1/2 a cup of grated cheese
• 3-4 tablespoons of water

Sift the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the grated cheese and then the water, a few drops at a time until the dough sticks together and forms a soft ball. You may need to add a small amount of flour if the mixture appears a little too wet. Chill the dough for five minutes. Roll dough out onto a floured board and slice into 10 x 10 cm squares. Place each square until a muffin hole and shape to fit.

For the filling:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 a cup of trim milk
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1/2 a teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper
• 1/2 a cup of grated cheese (or chopped feta)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 rashers of bacon
• chopped sun dried tomatoes
• sliced mushrooms

Beat the eggs, milk, flour, salt and pepper together. Fill the small pastry cases with anything you’d like in your quiches. I used all ingredients listed above. If using bacon, give it a quick zap in the microwave first and then chop up and divide between the muffin holes. Top with cheese and pour the egg mixture between each muffin hole. Shake a wee bit of pepper and salt over the top of each. I also topped the quiches with a few pine nuts to add to the flavour!

Bake at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!