SAVOURY POTATO PIE

SAVOURY POTATO PIE

Ingredients for the dough:

300g PLAIN FLOUR (=10,58oz=2 ⅓ cup)

120g WATER (=4,23oz=½ cup)

50g EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (=1,76oz=¼ cup)

Ingredients for the filling:

700g POTATOES (=24,69oz)

1 LEEK (about 150g=5,29oz once cleaned)

150g PDO PARMIGIANO REGGIANO 24 months (=5,29oz=1 ½ cup)

100g ROBIOLA CREAM CHEESE (=3,53oz=½ cup)

30g unsalted BUTTER (=1,06oz=⅛ cup)

30g EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (=1,06oz=2 ¼ cup)

50g WHOLE MILK (=1,76oz=¼ cup)

1 EGG

10g TOMATO PASTE (=0,35oz=⅔ tbsp)

5g COARSE SALT (=0,18oz=¼tbsp)

1 pinch TABLE SALT

Method:

Wash the potatoes to take any soil away from the skin, then lay the potatoes in a pot and cover them with water. Add coarse salt, then cook them with skin over high heat for about 30-40 minutes (the amount of time depends on the type of potato: you can check their softness with a fork or a toothpick, but it would be better not to let water in).

In the meantime, clean the leak, removing the bottom root and chopping the leaves off. Make a slit down the length of the leek and peel the first layer off. Wash under running water, then dry it. Roughly chop the leek with a knife, then mince with a mezzaluna knife.

Pour butter and extra-virgin olive oil in a pan. Melt butter and warm oil up at low heat, then add the minced leek and stew it at medium heat for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring, then add milk and decrease the fire to low. After a couple of minutes add the tomato paste, then cook for about 20 more minutes, stirring here and there.

Once cooked, peel and mash the potatoes with a potato masher, then mix them with the leek. Let everything cool down.

In the meantime grate PDO Parmigiano Reggiano and prepare the dough, mixing all the ingredients together and kneading until smooth and homogeneous.

Grease a ø 28 cm diameter aluminium tray with extra-virgin olive oil.

Cut half the dough away and roll it thin with a rolling pin, always changing direction so to provide it with a round shape. Lay the rolled dough onto the tray, using the rolling pin to lift it (wrap the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it on the tray). Make sure to completely cover the sides of the tray.

Once potatoes and leek have cooled down, add table salt, PDO Parmigiano Reggiano, egg and robiola cheese. Mix everything together, then lay the filling on the rolled dough. Roll the remaining half dough and place it on the filling to cover the pie. Cut the excess dough away or fold it, then prick the surface with a fork.

Bake the savoury potato pie in preheated fan-assisted oven at 180°C (=356°F) for about 40 minutes.

Serve warm or lukewarm as an appetizer or a starter: everybody loves savoury potato pie!