Potato Shallot Cheese Herb Pie

There have been a lot of pie-centric cookbooks released in the last year or so.

I know, ‘cuz you know I’ve got my fingers on the pulse of anything PIE!  So when I received a copy of You Wanna PIEce of Me? by Jenell Parsons, I was excited to explore it.

The Pie Hole

Jenell is the brains and beauty behind ‘The Pie Hole’ a retro inspired shop in Vancouver Canada that, you guessed it, specializes in everything pie.  I love her back story. She’s a self-taught baker (like so many of us can relate to) who loved baking pie.  Friends of hers encouraged her to set up a table full of pies to sell at a local Vintage Car show/festival.  She set up her booth/table, dressed up like a 50’s housewife right down to the high heels, pearl necklace and crisp apron.  Her first customers were two girls dressed up in full pin-up girl attire, red lips and bouffant hairdos who came up to her table.  They shared a slice of Jenell’s Maple French Toast Bacon Pie, and Jenell had her first sale!  The rest is Vancouver history, and The Pie Hole is now an institution and a destination.  Check out the link above, and you will see why!

The book contains so many of the pies that bring customers back regularly, including that Maple French Toast Bacon Pie (doesn’t it sound completely irresistable!?) as well as all sorts of fresh ideas.  She begins by outlining the tools that make pie-making less intimidating.  Then she goes through all her favourite crusts and methods for lattices, roses etc.  She has a section on fruit pies, cream based pies, special occasion pies, a section for what to do with leftover pastry, a whole section for apple pies, and of course, Savoury Pies.  And it is from this section that I decided to bake a pie.

Savoury Pie was my Choice

I chose the Potato, Shallot, Cheese and Herb Pie, because basically it reminded me of scalloped potatoes in a pie!  The shallots and garlic add some flavour contrast and depth, and fresh herbs, pepper and nutmeg round out the flavour profile.  It’s a great Spring time pie for an easy Meatless Monday dinner, brunch or special occasion. Just adding a fresh salad on the side, and this is a complete meal.  And best of all, no hard to source or expensive ingredients.  Everything in this recipe is easily sourced at your local market, and it is budget friendly!

I started my pie with a gluten free pastry.  There are more and more great ones to choose from, but I use the recipe found over at The Bojon Gourmet’s website, it always works for me. But in a pinch you can just use a cup for cup flour blend replacement in a regular pie pastry recipe like mine here! Have you ever added freshly chopped herbs to your pie pastry? You should! It’s a great way to add interest, both visually and flavour-wise to the pastry itself.  So I added fresh thyme.  And coarse pepper.

After you have the pastry prepped and chilling in the fridge, you will slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick rounds.  They will get a quick boil till just tender and then drained and cooled.  While they are cooling, sauté up the sliced shallots and garlic. Ultimately you will line the pie plate, layer the cooled potatoes alternating with the shallots and grated cheese (I ended up using Jarlsberg, Cheddar and Fontina since that is what was in the cheese drawer) You will pour a combo of egg yolks and cream whisked up with thyme and chives (I used dill because the chives in the fridge didn’t look good anymore!) The pastry gets folded over the filling, exposing the middle where you will mound the remaining amount of cheese.  A egg wash, salt, pepper and thyme get put over the pastry and it all gets baked till bubbly and golden brown.

My Changes

As I mentioned, I added some flavour to the pie crust, and I did play with the cheeses, I think this is an easy one to get away with.  Just make sure they are melting cheeses that work well with potatoes (pretty well anything goes, right?!) I also added some chilli flakes, just because we don’t like things too creamy without something to cut through the creaminess.  Jenell asks that we do the egg wash before we put the pie in the fridge to chill before baking.  I don’t like the idea of the liquid sitting on the pastry like that, so I brushed the egg wash on the pastry just before popping the pie into the oven.

This pie is fabulous once it has rested for a while to allow the cream to settle back into the potatoes.  In fact, it even tastes great at room temperature.  Jenell calls it a perfectly light pie.  I am not going to say that it is totally LIGHT! It does have a rich nature.  But in a good way.  This will easily cut into 8 slices, even more if someone has a lighter appetite.

There are still so many pies I want to try: the Pink Lemonade Pie, that Maple French Toast Bacon Pie, her Vietnamese Coffee Pie, and so many more.  And I need to make her Peanut Butter Whipped Cream! This is a pretty approachable pie book. Jenell has a lot of fun, doesn’t take herself too seriously, but provides recipes that will take us through any occasion, whether it’s treats for kids, a summertime picnic, or a family dinner in the Autumn. It’s not a study in intricate and somewhat intimidating crust artwork, but rather, the homey retro pies that make us think of our mums and grandmas! This is the kind of pie book I like!!

If you want to check out her book, you can find it here. If you want to see other savoury Spring tart or pie options, check out my Fleeting Fiddlehead Galette     Tomato Saffron Tart    Zucchini Feta and Mint Tart with Pine Nuts

Love Jen

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Potato Shallot Cheese and Herb Pie

This recipe creates a perfectly light pie, ideal for spring, an afternoon brunch, or to bring along to any potluck. The combination of thinly sliced potatoes, cheese, cream, and herbs is a definite crowd pleaser.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Canadian

Keyword potatoes, savoury pie

Prep Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 8

Ingredients

MAKES ONE 9-INCH SINGLE-CRUST PIE

• ½ recipe Double Butter Crust hanging several inches over the edge of the pie plate, See Notes
• 5-6 small/medium white or yellow potatoes thinly sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 5 shallots thinly sliced into ¼-inch-thick slices
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• 1½ cups heavy cream or 375 ml
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp chopped chives
• 1 Tbsp chopped thyme plus more for garnish
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 cup grated Emmentaler cheese or 130 grams
• Egg Wash

Instructions

1. Prepare a single 9-inch Double Butter Crust with 2 to 3 inches of dough hanging over the edge of the pie plate. Chill in the pie plate until ready to assemble your pie. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the shallots and garlic until softened and turning golden. Allow to cool.
4. In a large bowl, lightly beat together the cream, egg yolks, chives, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
5. Fill the pie shell half full with the cooked potatoes. Top with the shallot mixture, then half the grated cheese, then another layer of potatoes. Cover with the cream mixture. Fold the edges up over the filling for a rustic look. Brush the whole surface of the pie crust with egg wash and top the exposed potatoes with the remaining cheese, a sprig of thyme, and some salt and pepper. Chill the pie for 30 minutes in the fridge or 15 minutes in the freezer before baking. (I adjusted this to add the egg wash after the chilling and just before putting it into the oven)
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Transfer the pie to the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

The Pie Hole Pie Crust
MAKES ONE 9 - INCH DOUBLE CRUST (OR TWO 9 -INCH SINGLE CRUSTS)
1 cup water, ice cold 1 Tbsp vinegar, cold, or 250 ml
2 cups butter, cold, or 454 grams
4 cups flour, or 600 grams
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Start by mixing the water and vinegar together in a bowl or jug and putting it into the freezer so it’s icy cold when you need it. Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes and put them in the freezer too to keep as cold as possible while you measure the other ingredients.
Measure the flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix to fully incorporate.
Add the cold butter to the flour mixture, and use your fingers to massage the butter into the flour, breaking it apart and coating it in flour. Continue massaging and rolling the butter between your fingers until you have a coarse mixture with pea- to almond-sized pieces of butter throughout.
Add 3 Tbsp of the cold vinegar-water mixture. Slowly mix in the water with your hands, gently squeezing the butter and flour to help it come together.
Continue adding the vinegar-water mixture just 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing it in gently with your hands. The goal is to add just enough water to get the dough to come together into a shaggy mixture —and once it gets to that point, hands off
Transfer to a floured work surface, and carefully fold any loose bits of flour and butter into the ball of dough. Folding it a few times will create layers.
Bring your dough together to form a ball, divide it in half, and wrap each piece snugly with plastic wrap. At this point the dough is quite pliable, so press it down until it forms disks about 1 inch thick. This will save both time and effort when you start rolling the dough, as it’s more difficult to roll once chilled. Place the disks in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes to relax the gluten in the dough, which gives you a much more tender pastry. At this point you can also freeze the dough or the half you will not be using.