Learning to make pastry

Up until recently I avoided making pastry. For some reason I felt it was far too hard and instead I used shop bought pastry.  But I thought it was time to overcome my pastry fears and make my own and that is what I have been doing!!  And it has been loads of fun and so far no disasters!!

Last weekend I made an egg and bacon pie with a flaky pastry case - it turned out very well and tasted far better than I had anticipated!! The pastry was so easy to make but was time consuming so this will be a weekend activity for sure.  I used this recipe to make the pastry (LINK) however I combine two recipes to make the filling.  That is what I like about making pies, you can be as creative as you like and combine recipes to make your own depending on taste.  

Egg and bacon pie with flaky pastry on the top and bottom. This recipe is excellent if you want to use up lots of eggs as it takes 11 eggs to make!!  The eggs are broken whole into the pie unlike a quiche where they are beaten with milk and cream. 

Making short crust pastry with butter, flour and water for a spinach and feta quiche 

On Saturday I made a short crust pastry using this recipe (LINK) in the food processor and once again it turned out well.  However the recipe doesn't use enough water so I added much more than suggested.  Using the food processor makes the job so much easier and a piece of equipment I use a lot when cooking. So much so that I now leave it out on the kitchen bench. 

The egg mix for the spinach and feta quiche - 6 eggs, 1 cup cream, chopped spring onions and parsley, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and 100grams of good quality danish feta poured over finely chopped spinach, cooked bacon and onion. 

This time I made a spinach and feta quiche and made up the recipe as I went.  Once again I surprised myself with the results and will certainly be making this one again.  Unlike many spinach pie recipes that recommend frozen spinach I used fresh from the garden and did not pre-cook it. It worked perfectly. This one is for dieters as it contains lots of cream, cheese and eggs but certain worth making every now and again.

Spinach and feta pie with potato salad and a mix of raw string beans, capsicum and  sweetcorn

Next pie on my list is a jam tart!!

Going back to basics has lead to learning new skills such as making my own stock and making pastry and I am having a ball. 

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PS Whilst I am learning to make pastry, my son is busy learning how to make his own sourdough starter and experimenting with different sorts of sourdough breads.