Pot pies have been around since ancient Greece and they were called artocreas. These pies had a bottom but no top crust. When the Romans started to make artocreas, they added the top crust.
The original chicken pot pie started in England but today, chicken pot pie is very American. Remember the nursery rhyme “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. Oh, wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king?” That pie was a pot pie!
Here are some things to remember when making pot pies:
1. Do not put raw vegetables in the pie as they will not be cooked enough by the time your crust has browned.
2. Don’t overstuff the filling but leave enough room to seal the top crust.
3. The consistency of the filling should not be too thick or too runny, but just right! It needs to flow but not be runny. Based on the mother sauce veloute, it should be a liquid like gravy.
4. If using a bottom crust, preheat the crust to avoid a soggy bottom.
Fine Cooking has an elegant filling of an assortment of mushrooms with a phyllo crust.
Mushroom, Leek, Walnut Phyllo Pie
Serves 4-6
Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Melt in a large skillet over medium heat:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Add and cook, stirring often until softened and golden brown, about 10 minutes:
3 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Transfer to a large bowl.
Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes:
1/2 pound mixed mushrooms, such as quartered cremini or ali‘i mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, torn into pieces, and stemmed and sliced shiitake mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt
Transfer mushrooms to the bowl with leeks. Repeat with:
1/2 pound mixed mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt
Gently fold in:
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Working with one sheet of phyllo at a time (keep the remaining sheets covered with a clean towel), arrange the dough in a lightly greased 8- to 9-inch square baking pan.
Brush the sheet lightly all over with olive oil.
Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets, rotating the pan slightly after each addition and fanning out the layers, allowing the excess to hang over the edges to form a crust.
Spoon the mushroom mixture evenly into the pan, then gently press the dough in to create a crust while letting it spill around the edge.
Bake in the bottom third of the oven until the crust is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Mark your calendars
The 31st Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festivals will be held this year from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday.
Headquartered at Church Row Park with a stage and program behind Parker Ranch Center, this multi-venue event will celebrate Waimea’s annual blooming of its historic cherry trees.
Roberts Hawaii will provide a free transportation between Church Row Park and Parker Ranch Center, though walking is encouraged.
There will be food preparation by local chefs and mochi pounding.
On Sunday, there will be a Malasada Cooking Contest by The Hawaii Island Portuguese Chamber of Commerce at Aunty Sally’s Kaleohano’s Lu‘au Hale at 799 Piilani Street, Hilo.
Family secret malasada recipes will surely be put to the test.
You just need to bring 5-6 dozen malasadas by 9 a.m. to be tasted, judged and shared with the public.
But you had better already be registered if you are entering the contest as the deadline was yesterday, Jan. 29.
Malasadas will be judged by their appearance, taste and texture, as well as the table decoration and the costume of the cook.
Hawaii Community College’s Culinary Program’s I ola No Ke Kino and The Bamboo Hale Fine Dining is open.
Check the website: http://hawaii.hawaii.edu.cafeteria or call (808) 934-2559. For reservations to The Bamboo Hale, call (808) 934-2591.
Leave your name, phone number, the day and time you would like to dine: 11 a.m., 11:40 a.m., or 12:15 p.m.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.