Cast Iron
by: Melina Hammer
January28,2014
3.8
4 Ratings
- Prep time 20 minutes
- Cook time 40 minutes
- Serves 6-8
Jump to Recipe
Author Notes
Who doesn't love pie? Having fallen in love with the classic and beautiful pies from Europe, I thought to create a satisfying recipe that offers the surprise-reveal of food encased in a delightful pastry. Incorporating a combo of savory, slightly unusual pie ingredients like collards, chili powder, and beer - along with other yumminess - I figured this would turn out a sure winner for any audience. With just enough cheese to hold things together, the flavors resonate to their fullest. —Melina Hammer
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 1 bunchcollard greens, rinsed and spines cut from the leaves
- 3/4 poundcremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 heaping cupscomte cheese, grated
- 2/3 cuptoasted walnuts
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoonfreshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoonchili powder
- 1/2 cupbeer
- 2 packages puff pastry - I used Dufour
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- good olive oil
- 1 egg, for eggwash
Directions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a good glug of olive oil and the onions. Sauté, stirring occasionally until onions soften, about 5-7 minutes.
- While the onions cook, chop the collard stems into 1/4-inch segments, and roughly chop the leaves. Set aside.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and sprinkle in half the nutmeg. Stir to incorporate and add a little more olive oil if needed. Sauté for 5-7 minutes more, or until mushrooms give up their liquid. Pour mixture into a large bowl and set aside.
- Add another glug of olive oil and the chopped collard spines to the pan. Brown lightly, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the chili powder and 1/2 the beer (it should sizzle as it hits the pan), stir, and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- After a couple more minutes, add the chopped collard leaves and the garlic. Stir to incorporate. Add the remainder of the nutmeg and beer, lower heat to medium, and cook just until the leaves soften, about 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
- Roll out one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface, and using an 11" tart ring, cut out a circle (save scraps for another use). Place circle on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate.
- Roll out the second sheet of puff pastry into a square and gently drape over the tart ring, on another parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In a bowl, stir together the toasted walnuts, 3/4 of the cheese, and collards mixture. Carefully spoon mixture into the pastry. Spread an even layer of the mushroom-onion mix on top and scatter the last bit of cheese. As the mushroom mixture was more wet, I found that adding it to top the other ingredients made for less liquid seeping through the pastry.
- Lay the pastry circle on top and trim the bottom pastry to 1-inch border beyond the ring. Wet the edge of the circle with water and tuck the bottom over the top using a twisting motion for a braided edge look. Remove the pastry ring and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes. While pastry is chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Lightly beat the egg and paint the pastry all over with eggwash. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the pie is golden brown all over. Cool for ten minutes on a wire rack and dig in.
Tags:
- Pie
- Pizza
- French
- Collard Greens
- Onion
- Vegetable
- Beer
- Mushroom
- Walnut
- Nutmeg
- Cast Iron
- Winter
Contest Entries
- Your Best Dark, Leafy Greens
See what other Food52ers are saying.
-
Melina Hammer
-
Cassandra Brecht
-
ledowney3
Melina is the author of 'A Year at Catbird Cottage' with Ten Speed Press. She grows an heirloom and pollinator garden and forages wild foods at her namesake Hudson Valley getaway, Catbird Cottage. Melina loves serving curated menus for guests from near and far seeking community amidst the hummingbirds, grosbeaks, finches, and the robust flavors of the seasons.
Popular on Food52
4 Reviews
ledowney3 June 24, 2020
Hi Melina, I don't think we need to preheat the over so early in your recipe (#6). It's a huge waste of energy to preheat the oven while prepping the food AND then refrigerating the pastry for 30 minutes. **I'd recommend preheating the oven 10-15 minutes before taking the pastry out of the fridge.** Don't you think?
Melina H. June 29, 2020
Totally agree that the oven can be preheated later, at step 9 would work! It should reach cooking temp and be going for 15 minutes prior to the pastry going in. This was written a long time ago - thanks for noting it. :)
Melina H. February 10, 2014
Cassandra, you are correct. Thanks for pointing that out... that could get messy! I hope the rest reads clearly :)
Cassandra B. February 10, 2014
Regarding number 10. Surely you mean simply beaten eggs? To scramble eggs is to cook them.
