My Easy Cooking

Cheese and Salami Pies

Homemade puff pastry is a bit of a contradiction to many home cooks, like me. You see, we all love the light, flaky pastry, but the thought of rolling out the dough, adding butter, folding, resting, adding more butter, just sounds like too much work. So we all opt for the bought version. I don’t have a problem with store-bought dough, but the quality is only good if you have a good supplier, otherwise it is terrible….
Last week on RSG, I shared a “slap degie vir menige gebruik” (translated to Easy Batter for many a use). The response was overwhelming and still today, I am answering emails from people telling me what they made with this easy batter recipe. I must say someone made Lamb Shank Pie and my knees went wobbly! Well this homemade puff pastry recipe is again one of those easy, no-mess, no-fuss recipes and also a recipe I got from my mom’s old tattered recipe book. Seems like there is still a lot we can learn from  our moms and grannies who never thought they were good cooks, they just got on with the job of feeding their families.
I have featured this pastry recipe before, but for the sake of the RSG listeners, here it is again. Just before I get to the recipe a quick story..

Homemade Puff pastry

makes 1,2kg pastry which is enough for 1 family size pie

Ingredients

500g butter, cubed
550g plain flour
5 ml Cream of Tartar
250 ml boiling water.
pinch of salt

Mix flour, salt and Cream of Tartar.
Put butter in a separate bowl, add boiling water and let allow butter to melt completely, but it must still be lumpy.
Add butter mixture to flour mixture and mix well, without over mixing.
Pour out on a plate and leave fridge overnight.
When needed, roll out on a floured surface and then use as indicated on your own recipe. This pastry freezes exceptionally well.

Now let’s make some Cheese and Salami Pies

Salami and Tomatoes

This morning just after 9 I will be making this easy puff pastry on RSG (100-104fm) Do tune in or listen online.