Monday 29 November 2010

Beautiful Beetroot Pie

Happiness depends on ourselves - Aristotle
Healthy Appetites depend on Happy hearts - Sinead 
♡◦°˚°◦.¸¸.◦°˚ˆ*As the cold weather sweeps in like a rip tide and night time creeps upon us quicker than we know, the gentle hum and warmth of a kitchen offers a sweet welcoming call and comfort for cold tootsies. Bright colours and deep flavours, soothing suppers and crunchy textures all await an enthusiastic beautiful cook! 

This volcanic vegetable pie will bring brightness and a piquant glow to your evenings. There is something very special about Beetroot, beyond its piercing staining hue, its delicate sweetness springs from the filo pastry, complimented beautifully by the thyme and goats cheese. I invite you to play around with cheese combinations, experiment with your favourite cheese, following the quantities mentioned, to create your very own poignantly purple pie.

Beetroots are now in season, so instead of the usual pickling and using them in salad recipes, try this wonderfully warming Beet Pie, that bursts with delicate flavour, savoury sweetness and texture. It would  be a very pleasing vegetarian option for a Christmas feast, though one may find that even the most ardent meat eater is spellbound by this delicately crisp delight. I also serve it as a starter, though cut it into small portions when doing so.

Special Tip – Buy a brush. Food preparation is not dissimilar to any creative craft; with the right tools you’ll find most things effortless. The buttery brush strokes this recipe involves require a little brush, there are many kinds on the market, my favourite are these, enjoying finding your favourite.

In Ancient Greece, millennia ago, beetroots were presented on a silver platter to Apollo at Delphi, or so the legend goes. Today they should be presented likewise, perhaps on golden trays, to pregnant ladies and anyone who’s struggling with winter blues. Beetroots are a wonderful source of folic acid, they also help prevent nausea and contain the bioactive agent betain, which boosts healthy liver function. What makes beetroot so bloomin’ beautiful? Betacyanin of course, it’s the pigment that gives beetroot its amazing antioxidant properties, so why wait any longer? Father Christmas, or whoever your Santa Clause may be, has lots to do, so give yourself a gift and buy a bunch of beetroot and the other ingredients mentioned, you'll be surprised at the exquisite  taste, I promise.

Lots of love,

FFX

Beautiful Beetroot Pie
* Open filo pastry pack when ready to use it! This will prevent it from drying out and make it easier to handle.
*You may use cooked Beetroot to reduce prep time, this is a good idea the first time you cook the pie as it will make the whole dish seem much simpler.
Feel magenta!

SERVES 6 

Uncooked Beetroot, 500g grated (squeeze out excess liquid in a clean cloth)
Red onion 1 grated
Nutmeg, grated ½ tsp
Thyme Sprigs, 4 leaves only
Eggs, 4 medium
Goats cheese, 200g crumbled
Cottage cheese, 200g
Filo pastry, 1 packet
Butter, 40g melted
Horseradish sauce, 1 tbsp
Creme fraiche, 1 tbsp

PRE-HEAT oven to 180’ gas 4.
WHISK eggs in a large bowl.
STIR grated beetroot, red onion, nutmeg and thyme into the eggs and mix well until fully combined.
ADD feta and cottage cheese and mash until thoroughly combined.
SALT loves beetroot, so season generously!
MELT butter in a small saucepan.
BRUSH melted butter over (8in x 10in) 20cm x 28cm baking tray.
UNWRAP filo pastry and keep under a damp cloth, this will stop the pastry drying out. 
LAYER one sheet of filo on top of the baking tray and brush with butter.
REPEAT process with half of the filo sheets, roughly 5/6 sheets, depending on how many are in the pack, so that you have an even base for you beautiful pie.
SPOON beetroot mixture over the filo and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.
LAYER remaining filo sheets in the same fashion as before.
SCORE lines, using a sharp knife, over the pastry to resemble a chess board, take care not to cut below the filling. (This will make it much easier to cut once cooked) 
SPRINKLE a few droplets of water over the pastry to give a lovely crispy finish.
BAKE for 45 minutes, until golden and crisp.
LEAVE to cool slightly before serving, or serve cold, depending on the time of year:)
SERVE with some Horseradish cream. 
STIR crème fraiche to the same amount of Horseradish. 
SPOON alongside your beautiful pie. This is a truly delicious dish worth savouring.
SPLENDID!

8 comments:

  1. Mmm... delicious!! You've made me very hungry- I want beetroot pie!!xxx

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  2. I know you'll love this one. I shall cook it for you soon. FFX

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  3. hey sinead!
    made this yesterday - v yummy but not quite what i expected. my filo all squidged together so it was almost like one layer rather than... 'layered'. what did i do wrong?!

    ps. was almost better cold today as it had sort of set, so make double whenever you do it!

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  4. Hi Rebecca,

    Thank you very much for your comment. It’s great to receive feedback and I’m delighted you thought that the pie was “yummy.” Though I’m sorry it didn’t turn out quite how you’d expected. Not to worry, as with all recipes, it’s often on the second attempt that the dish comes to life! I’m writing you a little list, which I hope will help:

    1. Squeeze excess liquid out of the beetroot with a clean cloth.
    2. Make sure oven is pre-heated.
    3. Use the same sized baking tray as mentioned, because if you use a deeper smaller tray this will impact on the crispy loveliness of the filo.
    4. Before using, keep the filo pastry in a pile under a damp cloth so that the air does not get to them.
    5. Go easy on the butter and make sure to use light brush strokes and spread evenly.
    6. After lightly scoring a crisscross on the top of the pie, sprinkle a few droplets of water, to get a lovely crispy texture from your pastry.
    7. Happy thoughts and positive thinking will insure this pie is as lovely as it should be☺

    I’d love to hear how it goes the second time round. And once again thank you! I’ve tweaked the recipe ever so slightly to make some of these points clearer. I’d love you to join the Feeling Food FB page to and welcome your future comments warmly. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feeling-Food-Blog/113691758682250

    All the best,

    FFX

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  5. i think i'm on it... unless there's another page i don't know about.

    right, did lots of things not like you just said... may have another liaison with the filo ce soir!

    x

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  6. Second time lucky as they say:) Hope it goes well for you. FFX

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  7. that IS beautiful! I love beetroot because it's got everything, flavour, texture, and omg that colour! of course, it's also incredibly healthy!

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  8. Thank you Shu Han: ) This is one of my favourite recipes. I agree with you, beetroot has got everything going for it and the magenta colour brings magic to the taste buds!

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