Cooking with the Dutchess:
By Hanneke Eerden
As you might know, I’m not quite a vegetable fan. I’m a meat fan! But I understand that vegetables are necessary (so they say…) so I try and I try. And sometimes I come up with a fantastic way to serve these! Like this time, I have a super tasty vegetable pie for you!
Last week when I visited a supermarket in Germany (that’s about 15 minutes from my home) I saw puff pastry rolls in the fridge. Super easy! It’s a large sheet, and way better then the small square puff pastry sheets I always used to buy. One roll (or sheet) is enough for one large pie and then the idea of this vegetable pie started to bubble up in my mind. Okay I admit other pies too but those didn’t had anything to do with vegetables so I’m going to leave those out of this story!
I never liked vegetables, so it’s nothing new. When I was little my Mom had to puree all the vegetables for me otherwise I couldn’t eat them. Yes it’s true, and I understand you think it’s weird but it gets weirder… I added apple sauce to every vegetable… sorry to mention that but I told you it would get weirder! Luckily that doesn’t happen anymore but it took me a long time to break that habit. Thinking back, I can’t imagine it anymore and I really seriously doubt the fact that it made things tastier… sweeter yes and the taste of apple sauce probably covered up all the other tastes. When you look at it that way I can only say that I was actually a smart kid! Yes, with a very bad taste, I know!
Back to today’s recipe: for this pie I went a little more southern into Europe, and sprinkled a little touch of France and Italy into the recipe. Of course you’re free to add or leave out ingredients that you don’t like (or you can’t find). But first I give you the advice to try this version I’m giving you, it’s really good!
Good to know: these amounts are for a small pie (2 persons)
Ingredients:
Puff pastry
1 zucchini
½ roasted red bell pepper
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup mushrooms
2 slices anchovies fillets
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg
Pepper/salt
1 cup grated cheese (I used Gouda cheese, you can pick one with an aged taste)
Chipotle chile seasoning
Preheat your oven to 375F.
Chop all the vegetables, and don’t chop them too coarsely.
Line a pie mold with parchment paper and then fold in, carefully, the puff pastry. With a fork stab a few times on the bottom and the sides, otherwise the pastry will be too thick after it’s done. The pastry that falls over the edge of the mold you can cut it off (a scissor is the best thing to use).
Add the vegetables. In a large measuring cup whisk the egg and add the heavy cream, pepper/salt and the cheese. Whisk it again and then pour it over the vegetables. The cheese will end up on top and that’s perfect.
Sprinkle the chipotle chile seasoning over it and put it in the oven.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Let it rest for about 10 minutes before you remove the mold. Great to serve with grilled chicken and potatoes! More pictures of this recipe you can find on my website.
It’s Dinner Time!
As Always ~ Bon Appétit!