Tried and true

Otago Daily Times

4 days ago

What's for dinner tonight? It is a question heard around homes in New Zealand every day to the despair of many home cooks.
The 10th anniversary edition of Easy Weeknight Meals aims to give the despairing cook a quick and easy answer.
It is a cookbook that came out of some of the most popular recipes created for the My Foodbag delivery service co-founded by Nadia Lim and her husband Carlos Bagrie, who now live on Royalburn Station near Arrowtown.
The book includes 16 new recipes and has many tried and true favourites that have been tested by customers and reviewed by them.
"People tell us there is nothing like sitting down to a home-cooked meal that everyone can enjoy, knowing exactly what has gone into it."
Organised seasonally, it makes it easy to pick a dish that uses what produce is available and more cost-effective at supermarkets or farmers' markets.
The winter section has a good selection of hearty warming dishes including pies — it shows just how popular the humble pie is for New Zealanders.
It also shows how versatile a pie can be.
Pie recipes range from a Asian twist using roti as the "pastry" top for a tasty curry pie, to a warming mushroom, leek and butternut pie with a traditional pastry topping — perfect for those trying to meet their five-plus a day — and of course you cannot go past a potato-top pie, especially when made with smoked fish. The book
Recipes extracted from Easy Weeknight Meals 10th Anniversary Edition, published by Allen & Unwin NZ, RRP $39.99. Malaysian roti chicken pie with fresh curry leaves Serves 4
Curry filling
600g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm cubes
2 carrots, cut into 2cm cubes
400g potatoes, cut into 2cm cubes
2 shallots, thinly sliced
½ bunch curry leaves
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
20g mild curry powder
2 Tbsp cornflour
pinch of chilli flakes
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
1 tsp fish sauce
200ml coconut milk
100g baby spinach
Pie topping
2 packs (480g) flaky roti
½ bunch curry leaves
olive oil, to drizzle
Method
Preheat oven to 220°C. If you don't have an ovenproof skillet, set aside a pie dish.
Pat chicken dry and season cubes with salt and pepper. Set aside. Prepare vegetables.
Heat a drizzle of oil in an ovenproof skillet (or fry-pan) on medium to high heat. Add carrots, potatoes, shallots, first measure of curry leaves and salt measure. Cook for about 5 minutes, until shallot is softened. Add garlic and ginger, mild curry powder, cornflour and chilli flakes and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
Add chicken, stock, water, fish sauce and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, until vegetables are almost tender. Stir through spinach until just wilted, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place curry filling in pie dish, if using. Scrunch roti roughly and place on top of curry filling. Sprinkle over second measure of curry leaves and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until roti are golden.
To serve: Spoon pie into bowls and serve. Mushroom, leek and butternut pot pies Serves 4-5
Pot pies
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, trimmed and chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
500g butternut, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp chopped thyme leaves
500g mushrooms (a mixture), quartered
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup cream
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Broccoli and beans
200g green beans
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
Balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Heat olive oil in a large fry-pan on medium heat. Cook leek, celery, butternut, garlic and thyme until butternut is soft and leek is beginning to caramelise, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, then stir in Worcestershire sauce and cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Tip into a large baking dish, or alternatively into 4-5 medium-sized ramekins for individual servings. Cut puff pastry to size to fit your baking dish or ramekins and place pastry on top of vegetables, allowing a little pastry to hang over the edges. Brush with beaten egg and prick a few holes in the top of the pastry with a fork or tip of a knife. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to the boil. When pie(s) are cooked, add beans and broccoli to boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain and toss with a little balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To serve: Cut pie into pieces or place each ramekin on a plate.
Serve with green beans and broccoli on the side. Smoked fish pie with salad Serves 4-5
Potato and cheese topping
600g Agria potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
knob of butter
¼ cup milk
2 Tbsp chopped chervil or parsley
½ cup grated tasty cheese
Filling
3 Tbsp butter
1 leek, trimmed and sliced
¼ cup water or chicken stock
3 Tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
1½ tsp curry powder
400-500g smoked fish, skin removed, flaked
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped capers
To serve
2 Tbsp chopped chervil or parsley, to garnish
leafy green salad
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Grease a large casserole dish.
Cook potatoes, carrot and garlic in boiling water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash with butter, milk and chervil or parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile make the pie filling. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium fry-pan on medium heat and cook leek for 2-3 minutes. Add water or stock, cover and leave to cook for 5-6 minutes until leek is slightly caramelised.
Add remaining 2 Tbsp of butter to leeks and melt, then add flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 1 minute until frothy. Gradually add milk, bit by bit, while continuously stirring to avoid any lumps forming. Add curry powder and gently simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
Add smoked fish, hard-boiled eggs and capers to the sauce. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into prepared dish, top with mashed potato and sprinkle over cheese. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until heated through and cheese has melted.
To serve: Garnish fish pie with chervil or parsley and spoon on to each plate. Serve with salad on the side.