Yesterday, January 23, was National Pie Day. It was started in America and over the years we’ve shared recipes of  America’s favourite pies such as apple pie. 

South Africans, of course, are no strangers to pies of the savoury kind. Who doesn’t remember being jostled in the tuck-shop line as they waited to get their hands on a steak and kidney pie? Actually, do schools still offer pies at their tuck-shops? Perhaps this is the time for some nostalgia, and you can make some pie for your little one in this first month of school for 2023.

If you missed Pie Day yesterday don’t worry, the folks over at Capsicum Culinary Studio have you covered with recipes of SA’s most popular and well-known pies.

Steak and Kidney Pie  

For the base

300g puff pastry

1 egg and 1 extra egg yolk beaten together  

For the filling

2 tbsp vegetable oil

700g braising steak, diced

200g lamb kidney, diced 2

medium onions, diced

30g plain flour

850ml beef stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper

dash of Worcestershire sauce  

Method

Preheat oven to 220ºC. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the beef. Set aside, then brown the kidneys in the same pan. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, then return the beef to the pan, sprinkle flour over and coat the meat and onions.

Add the stock to the pan, stir well and bring to the boil. Turn the heat right down and simmer for 1½ hours without a lid. If the liquid evaporates, add more stock. When the meat is tender, remove from the heat and add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce then stir and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, place the cooked meat mixture into a pie dish.

Roll out the pastry to 5mm thick and 5cm larger than the dish you are using. Using the rolling pin, lift the pastry and place it over the top of the pie dish then trim and crimp the edges. Brush the surface with the beaten egg mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden-brown. Serve immediately.  

Chicken and Mushroom Pie  

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

500g chicken thigh fillets cut into 3cm cubes

500g punnets mushrooms, thickly sliced

50g butter

35g plain flour

1½ tsp mixed spice

500ml milk

1 cup frozen peas

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed in the fridge

1 egg yolk

Salt and pepper, to season  

Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper for 5 minutes until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the mushrooms, cook until golden then remove and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium. Melt the butter in the pan, then stir in the flour and mixed spice.

Cook for 1 minute before gradually whisking in the milk until thickened slightly. Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan and season to taste. Cook until sauce thickens (about 2 mins) then transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Remove the pastry sheets from the fridge and cut each sheet in half and place one on top of the other.

Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry out to a 4mm-thick rectangle that fits the size of a rectangular 1.5- to 2 litre baking dish. Stir the frozen peas through the pie filling mixture to combine then transfer to the baking dish. Place the pastry over the top to cover, pressing down on the edges with a fork to seal in the filling. Make a small cross-incision in the centre of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Brush the egg yolk over the surface of the pie then bake for 35-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Serve immediately. 

For those a little more adventurous and keen to try something different, there’s a recipe for Pastilla, which is a popular chicken pie in Morocco. 

Pastilla  

Ingredients

1 package phyllo pastry cut in half

3 large chicken thighs trimmed

2 large onions diced

5 tbsp butter melted

3 cloves garlic minced

1 cinnamon stick

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp saffron

½ tsp coriander

1 cup parsley chopped

2 cups sliced almonds

6 eggs whisked

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup icing sugar  

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200ºC. Sauté onions and garlic in a large bowl on medium heat with olive oil until golden. Add chicken thighs, cinnamon stick, saffron, turmeric, coriander, ginger and salt and pepper. Stir everything together. Add water to cover then turn down the heat and simmer on low-medium, covered, for about 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Lightly toast the almond slices in a pan and add them to a food processor with ¼ cup icing and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Pulse until it resembles a coarse sand and set aside.

When the chicken is cooked from pot, shred, add another ½ teaspoon of turmeric and set aside. Let remaining ingredients in the pot cook on medium heat, uncovered until reduced by about half. Add whisked eggs and cook, stirring frequently until it resembles a thick paste.

Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Now bring all components to the counter (melted butter, shredded chicken, egg/onion mixture, cinnamon sugar almond mixture, and sheets of phyllo dough).

Place about 8 half-sheets of phyllo pastry in a small oven-proof bowl, lightly brushing with butter between every 2 layers, letting the layers extend out of the bowl. Add a small layer of chicken to the phyllo-covered bowl, then fold over 2 of the phyllo dough sheets to cover the chicken.

Lightly brush with butter. Add a layer of onion/egg mixture, fold over another 2 sheets, and brush with oil. Add a layer of almonds, drizzle over some butter, and wrap the remaining phyllo sheets to cover everything and fold tightly, brushing over a small final layer of butter. Repeat these steps with remaining ingredients depending on how many pastillas you want to make.

Cook pastillas for 15 minutes, then carefully remove them from their containers, and put them back in the bowls upside-down, brush with butter and place back in oven for another 10-15 minutes until phyllo is crispy on top. When cooked through, remove from oven, take out of their containers and sprinkle the tops with icing sugar before serving.