Pie #1: Leftover skillet pie
grownandgathered
So, I am just going to get straight to it. 35% (or more!) of food at Christmas time, ends up in landfill (in Australia that is over 5 million tonnes). I can’t even begin to talk about all the ways that that statistic is just unfathomable.
To put it simply, I was recently reading about a theory that instructs people to keep their fridges empty, so people don’t create waste. I wondered if that was just perpetuating the problem of food waste? Shouldn’t we all look in our fridges, learn to cook with what is in our fridge and preserve what we can’t eat?
Call it oversimplifying, but to me, that right there is the answer. Especially at this time of year, when your fridge may be overabundant and you have formed a love-hate-relationship with the overabundance of food in the fridge.
So we want to make it a routine, that you make an everything-in-the-fridge meal on boxing day. We actually do this weekly, clear our fridge out on a Sunday - and we have a few meals on rotation that we make with all the bits and pieces. This is one of them.
So this pie is inspired by our fridge. It is DELICIOUS and easy. It’s like a puffy quiche I guess, with heaps of filling. It’s really good cold, with cold and fresh salads on the side. I could eat it everyday (I am actually eating a piece as I write this).
We have made ours with a 22cm Solidteknics skillet (which are actually life-changing to cook with and are coming to our store soon, woohoo!), which is the perfect size for this pie! If you haven't baked with a skillet before, there are a few tips throughout the recipe!
We tried to brainstorm ALL the things you might have (wherever you are in the world today) leftover, but I am sure there are things we have missed - if this is the case, please post it below in the comments section. We get heaps of emails and private messages from people who are commenting/asking questions about our recipes, but we want to see them here, in that comment section below - because that is what it’s for (and our inbox is really full 101% of the time!)
Don't be shy, comment below - if you have an idea or question, everyone wants to know (I am sure of it!).
Enjoy the pie. X
Serves 6-8 // Time 10-15 minutes prep + 45 minutes cooking
Recipe.
Ingredients
“PIE” MIXTURE
1 onion (any variety), diced
Big pinch black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 eggs, whisked
80ml (⅓ cup) cream, sour cream, or mascarpone
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
50g (⅓ cup) wholemeal spelt flour (or replace with fine whole grain corn flour for a GF version)
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
Squeeze lemon juice
¼ teaspoon unrefined salt
FRESH HERBS
About 50g herbs: parsley or dill, finely chopped
OR 2 tablespoons pesto
OR about 10 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped from stem
MEAT & “MEAT”
150g cooked leftover meat: ham, pork, turkey, bacon etc, diced
OR vegetarian option, 150g cooked whole mushrooms or extra vegetables from the list below
VEGETABLES
300g leftover cooked vegetables, including any mixture of:
Cubed into about 1cm cubes: pumpkin, sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, potato, beetroot, capsicum, carrot, green beans, tomatoes, squash, leek, zucchini, parsnip
Sliced: silverbeet, chard, spinach
Whole: mushrooms, peas
Diced: fresh tomatoes
TO TOP (optional)
About 2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard (Highly recommended)
Leftover cheese: soft cheese (e.g. goats chèvre), pecorino, parmesan, or cheddar
Other things: fresh tomatoes - sliced
TO SERVE
Leftover sauce: tomato sauce, tomato relish/chutney, cranberry sauce, pesto, apple sauce, mayonnaise, or salad dressing. Whatever you have sitting in that fridge of yours!
Cold salads and fresh greens (e.g. lettuce, rocket, mizuna, mustard greens)
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced. Liberally grease or line a 20-22cm skillet or round baking tin, set aside.
In a small fry pan, over a medium heat, add a big splash of olive oil, onion and black pepper, and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions have softened. Throw the garlic in, turn the heat off and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk eggs, cream and olive oil together well. Add flour, baking soda, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and whisk to combine well and makes a smooth batter. Add the onion mixture you set aside earlier and the fresh herbs, stir to combine.
If using a skillet, place it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes pre-heat it (this is essential so that the pie doesn’t stick to the pan).
Pour about half of the pie mixture into your tin/skillet. Layer your “meat”/meat and vegetables, then cover with the remainder of the mixture. Make sure everything is covered with the pie mixture. Shake tin/skillet gently to settle all of the ingredients.
If using topping ingredients, add them now. Dollop mustard over the top, sprinkle or grate cheese and lay tomatoes in a single layer.
Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes. When ready the pie should be golden brown on top and a skewer test should come out clean. Leave to cool a little in the tin/skillet (about 10-15 minutes) before serving.
Serve warm or cold, with leftover cold salads and topped with leftover sauces!
Share with all.
Note. If there is heaps of salt in your leftovers, omit salt in the “pie” filling.
