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Potato, Apple and Onion Pie with Taleggio

I appreciate a good pie with a buttery crust all year round but there's something particularly satisfying about this hearty dish on a cold autumn's evening. Since the season started, I've already pulled a few of them out of my oven, Nigella Lawson's potato, cheese and spring onion pie is one of my all time favourites. Imagine coming home after a walk through the pouring rain, your bones cold and clothes wet, and then you see - and smell - this golden beauty on the table. Just the idea is so tempting that I could walk straight back into my kitchen and bake another pie.

Nigella's recipe inspired me to think about possible potato fillings wrapped in short crust - with apples and shallots for example. The fruits are at their peak at the moment, crisp, firm and packed with juices, they fill the air in my kitchen with the sweet smell of autumn. I sliced them thinly and layered them with onions to melt into the rich aroma of fresh thyme and milky Taleggio cheese. It was a good pie, especially in combination with German black pudding sausage (Blutwurst) on the side, thickly sliced and cooked in butter. I love this season!

Potato, Apple and Onion Pie with Taleggio

Serves 3-4

For the filling

  • potatoes, peeled and diced, 350g / 12 1/2 ounces

  • heavy cream 4 tablespoons

  • fine sea salt

  • ground pepper

  • nutmeg, freshly grated

  • fresh thyme leaves 2 1/2 teaspoons

  • medium shallot, thinly sliced, 1

  • small sour apples, quartered, cored and thinly sliced, 2

  • Taleggio cheese, chopped, 70g / 2 1/2 ounces

For the pastry

  • plain flour 300g / 2 1/3 cups

  • fine sea salt 1 teaspoon

  • butter, cold, 150g / 5 1/2 ounces

  • organic egg yolks 2

  • cold water 2 tablespoons

For the glaze

  • organic egg yolk 1

  • milk 1 tablespoon

  • a pinch of salt

Cook the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes, drain and let them cool completely.

Mix the cooked potatoes with the cream and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and thyme to taste.

For the pastry, combine the flour with the salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour with a knife until there are just small pieces left. Continue with your fingers and quickly rub the butter into the flour. Add the egg yolks and water and continue mixing with the hooks of your mixer until you have a crumbly mixture. Form 2 discs, dividing the dough roughly 2:1, wrap in cling film and put in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) (conventional oven).

Whisk the egg yolk, milk and salt for the glaze.

Take the dough out of the freezer and roll out both discs between cling film, the bigger piece for the bottom and sides and the smaller one as the lid of the pie. Line a 23cm / 9″ shallow pie dish or a 20 ½cm / 8" loose bottom springform pan with pastry. Spread the potatoes on top of the dough, cover with a layer of onions and a layer of apples and finish it off with the cheese. Close the pie with the smaller pastry lid, gently push the rim with your fingers to seal it. Make a few small holes in the top with a skewer and brush the pastry with the egg glaze. Bake the pie for 15 minutes before you turn the heat down to 350°F (175°C), bake for another 45 minutes or until the pie is golden and the pastry is baked through. Let the pie cool for at least 15 minutes before you cut it into pieces.

Serve on its own or with thick slices of black pudding cooked in a pan in hot butter for just a couple minutes.

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