Rustic Chicken Apricot Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush a 23cm springform tin with melted lard and dust with a little flour.
• Whizz the chicken thighs in a food processor to mince them. Add the onion and blitz again to chop it. Tip into a bowl. Add the spices, sausagemeat, lardons, parsley and some salt. Mix really well.
• To make the pastry, melt the lard in a saucepan with 150ml water and the milk. When melted, remove from the heat, tip in the flour and beat well. Knead on a lightly floured work surface, then roll out and use two-thirds to line the tin.
• Spoon in half the sausage mixture and top with the apricots and half the chicken breasts. Cover with the rest of the sausage mixture, then press the remaining chicken breasts on top.
• Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the pie. Press firmly onto the filling, then bring the pastry from the sides over the top and seal. Make a hole in the top of the pie for steam to escape, and brush well with the egg. Bake for 30 mins, then reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and bake for 1 hr more. Cool in the tin.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour and the salt in a bowl; cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly. Using a fork, mix in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just holds together. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a ball. Working on a floured work surface, roll each ball out into a crust big enough for a 9-inch pie dish with an inch or so to spare. Carefully lift a crust, fold into quarters, position into pie dish, and unfold the crust. Set the other crust aside.
• Mix the sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined; stir in the lemon juice and apricots. Spoon the apricot filling over the pie crust in the dish, and top with the reserved crust. Crimp the edges of the crusts together with a fork, cut away the excess crust, and cut slits into the pie to allow steam to escape. Cover the edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil to prevent burning.
• Bake on center rack of the preheated oven until the pie is browned and the filling is bubbling and thickened, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool and sprinkle top with 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place apricots in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon halves over apricots. Gently mix 1 cup white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon into apricots to coat.
• Line a 9-inch pie dish with 1 pie pastry. Spread apricot filling into shell. Roll remaining pastry onto a work surface; cut into about 1/2-inch-wide strips for a lattice crust. Cover apricot filling with pie dough strips creating a lattice pattern; seal top crust pieces to bottom crust edges and crimp into a fluted pattern. Brush egg white over top crust and sprinkle with a pinch of white sugar and cinnamon. Cover fluted crust edges loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove pie from oven and cool.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Stir together the prepared fruit, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and spices and/or seasonings in a large bowl until combined.
• On a well-floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large circle, about 12 to 14 inches. Make sure the rolled dough is chilled. Spoon the fruit mixture onto the center of the dough leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, pleating the dough, then dot the fruit filling with the butter pieces. Lightly brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar.
• Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Cover the crust with foil if the crust browns too quickly. Cool.
• Serve the warm galette with ice cream.
• Cook's Note: The same recipe can be made in individual serving sizes.
• To make pie dough:
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and the salt; cut or work the butter into the flour with your fingers or a pastry blender until you have large pea sized chunks scattered throughout. Alternatively, pulse the dough in a food processor, or mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed.
• Add the ice water slowly while stirring with a fork, or in the food processor or mixer, until just combined. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 2 disks, flatten and refrigerate each for at least 15 minutes.
• Roll out one chilled pie dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Reserve the second pie dough disc for another use. Transfer dough to pie plate, pressing the dough lightly into the plate; trim the edges. Dock the dough with the prongs of a fork evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Line the docked dough with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake the pie crust until the edges are brown and golden, about 15 minutes Remove from the oven and remove the weights. Return crust to the oven to finish baking for another 5 minutes.
• Rustic Pie/Galette Variations:
• Almond Apricot: Season the sliced apricots with almond paste or extract.
• Spiced-Apple Pear: Season the sliced apples and pears with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.
• All-Berry: Fill the baked crust with pastry cream and top with sweetened berries.
• Caramelized Onion and Walnut: Caramelize 4 Spanish onions; let cool. Top the dough with grated Gruyere cheese and spread the onions and toasted walnuts over the cheese.

Steps:

• In a shallow microwave-safe dish, combine the first seven ingredients; stir in chicken. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring once. , Add green pepper and cashews. Cover and microwave on high for 2-4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring once. Let stand for 3 minutes. Serve with rice and if desired, sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, sprinkle apricots with lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add to apricots, toss gently to coat., Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim to 1 in. beyond edge of pie plate. Add filling. Roll out remaining pastry to make a lattice crust. Trim, seal and flute edges. Brush with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. , Cover edges of pastry loosely with foil. Bake 45-55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice. Add apricots and toss to coat. , Place pastry on a parchment-lined 12-in. pizza pan. Brush with egg white to within 1-1/2 in. of edges. Spoon apricot mixture over egg white; sprinkle with almonds. Fold up edges of pastry over filling, leaving center uncovered. Brush folded pastry with milk; sprinkle with remaining sugar. , Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Use parchment to slide tart onto a wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• Make the pork filling. Put the sausagemeat, bacon and roughly chopped ham into a food processor with the mace, pepper and a small amount of salt. Pulse until it is all coarsely chopped. Stir in the pieces of ham and the parsley.
• To make the pastry, tip the flour into a bowl with 2 tsp salt. Put the lard and milk in a pan with 150ml water, then heat gently until the lard has melted, but don't let it boil. Pour the hot liquid into the flour mixture, while beating with a wooden spoon.
• Use your hands to knead until the dough comes together smoothly. Use a little more lard to grease the loaf tin, then line it with a long strip of baking parchment that comes well over the edge of the tin at each end - this will help you to lift out the pie. Dust inside the tin with the finest dusting of flour, too.
• Dust your surface with flour. Wrap a third of the dough in cling film, then a tea towel (see tip, below), then roll out the rest to roughly 1.5cm thick. Roll the pastry over the rolling pin to help you lift over and into the tin. Use your hands to mould the pastry into the tin, pressing it firmly into the corners and easing it neatly up the sides to give an even thickness and overhang all the way around.
• Start layering up the pie with roughly a quarter of the pork filling, pressing into a firmly packed, even layer at the bottom. Top with just over half of the chicken fillets - you can cut them to fit if you need to. Sandwich them together like a jigsaw puzzle, so that wherever you eventually slice into the finished pie, you get a perfect stripe of each different layer.
• Follow the chicken strips with a second quarter of the pork. Again, try to press into a well-packed, even layer without disturbing the pastry too much. Now put in the apricots. Fit them in snugly, to once again create an even layer with no visible gaps.
• Top the apricots with just over half the remaining pork mixture - this will probably take you over the top of the tin. Add the final layer of chicken fillets down the middle, starting to round the filling toward the centre. Finally, pile on the remaining pork and mould with your hands into a neat, firm dome.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out the remaining pastry on a floured surface to a little bigger than the top of the pie. Brush some egg over the overhanging pastry edges on the pie, then lift on your pastry lid.
• Use your hands to smooth over the top, pressing out any air, then press the edges well to seal. Using a small, sharp knife, and holding the whole tin in your hand so you can rotate it, cut away the excess pastry neatly by running your knife along the edge of the tin.
• Crimp the edge of your pastry by using your index finger to create a 'divot', while pinching around it with two fingers from your other hand. Work all the way around the edges - this looks pretty, but also helps to seal the edges even more.
• Finally, make a small hole in the centre of the pie and insert a metal piping nozzle into it. Brush the top all over with more beaten egg, then bake in a shallow roasting tin for 30 mins, before lowering the temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and cooking for another hour. Leave to cool (see tip, below), then use the paper to help lift out the pie - although once cool, you should be able to tip it out upside down onto your hand.
• Soften the gelatine leaves in some cold water and pour 500ml boiling water over the stock cube to make stock. Squeeze the excess water from the leaves and stir into the stock to dissolve. Cool to room temperature, then sit a small funnel into your nozzle (unless you have a steady hand) and gradually pour in a little at a time into your pie until no more will go in. Remove the nozzle and chill for at least 4 hrs, or overnight.