broccoli & cheddar pie
There's no doubt about it - we are in the middle of winter. It's cold, windy, cold, gloomy, grey and cold. The days are short and we're all a bit grumpy, aren't we?
While I admire us for all eating salad for lunch every single day of our lives, sometimes you need a heartwarming dinner at the end of a long week.
This savoury pie, filled with broccoli, a cheesy mornay sauce and wrapped in a flaky crust is the ultimate winter meal. I'm not usually big on cooking foods with cheese but, in this pie, a small amount of cheese goes a long way and really adds an amazing flavour.
The recipe below includes instructions for making your own pie crust. But, if you're tired and you don't want to, I'm sure you could use a store bought crust.
I like to serve this dish with a huge, leafy salad of greens, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion - minced
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 head broccoli - cut into florets
salt & pepper
Sauce
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 cups 2% milk (warm)
3/4 cup grated old cheddar cheese
pinch nutmeg
pinch cayenne
salt & pepper to taste
Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 stick cold butter - cubed
3-4 tbsp ice water
1 tsp white vinegar
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
1 whole egg - beaten
Method
1. make the crust by pulsing flour and cold butter in the food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. pulse in egg yolk and vinegar. add ice water by the spoonful until the dough comes together into a ball. remove from the processor and shape into a disc. wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator.
2. make the sauce by melting butter in a sauce pot over medium high heat. add flour and stir constantly for 1-1.5 mins. whisk in milk and bring to a boil while constantly whisking. once the sauce has boiled, turn the head down to medium low and cook until thickened. remove from the heat and whisk in cheese, cayenne, nutmeg and season with salt & pepper.
3. preheat the oven to 400°
4. in a skillet, heat olive oil and add onions and garlic. cook until onions are translucent, 2-3 minutes. add broccoli florets and cook for 2-3 minutes or until they turn bright green. season with salt & pepper.
4. add onion/garlic/broccoli mixture to the sauce and stir to coat. place in the bottom of a pie dish or baking dish.
5. on a lightly floured surface, roll dough out do a thickness of 1/8" in your desired shape. place dough over the pie filling and crimp the edges under to seal them. brush with beaten egg.
6. bake pie until the crust is golden and filling is bubbling - approximately 35 mins. Serve warm.