Picnic Pie

Ready in 1 hour / Serves 6-8

Picnic Pie Photo: Rose Langbein

My mum, Annabel, is famous for her bacon and egg pie. The first time she made it for my dad, he proposed - it's that good. My version here is from our latest cookbook, Summer at Home. It's full of lots of lovely herbs, greens, feta, and caramelised onions for extra flavour. This pie is reminiscent of days spent up the lake in Wānaka with my family drinking too much wine, swimming a lot, and slumbering in the sunshine. It keeps really well and is easily transportable, so it's perfect to take along for picnics and adventures with good friends and whānau.  

Ingredients 

• 2 large bunches (about 500g) spinach, trimmed and coarsely chopped 
• 1 tbsp plain flour, to dust pastry
• 450g shortcrust or flaky puff pastry or 3 sheets shortcrust or puff pastry
• 2 boiled and cooked potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
• 75g feta, crumbled (optional)
• 10 eggs
• ½ cup chopped soft herbs such as parsley, dill, chives
• ½ tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Caramelised Onions

• 2 tbsp butter or extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• ½ tsp salt

Method

Preheat your oven to 200ºC fanbake and place a pizza stone or oven tray in the oven to preheat (this will ensure your pie gets a nice crispy bottom). 

Start by preparing the caramelised onions. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have completely softened and are starting to caramelise (15-20 minutes). If they start to catch or brown, reduce the heat, and add a little water. Once caramelised, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. You can do this step in advance as caramelised onions will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a week. 

Place the spinach in a colander set in the sink and pour over just-boiled water to wilt. Drain thoroughly, pressing out any excess water well.

Cut a piece of baking paper to fit the base and sides of a 33cm x 23cm deep-sided baking dish. Put the paper on a bench, dust with a little flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to cover the paper. If using the pastry sheets, press 2 pastry sheets together, then roll to fit the paper. Lifting the paper with the pastry on top, transfer into the baking dish to cover base and sides, pressing the pastry into the corners of the dish. 

Sprinkle the caramelised onions over the pastry and top with the sliced potato, feta and wilted spinach. 

Whisk the eggs, herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl together, and then pour on top of the potato, feta, and spinach. You want everything to be submerged in the egg mixture-so press down on the spinach if needed. 

Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into narrow strips. Arrange in a lattice on the pie top, pressing the ends of the strips into the edges of the pie. Place on the heated oven tray and bake until the pastry starts to puff (12-15 minutes). Reduce the heat to 180°C fanbake and bake for a further 20-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden and filling is firm in the middle. Serve warm or at room temperature. This will keep in a covered container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Note: To get your lattice extra golden and crispy, whisk an egg and brush it over the pastry before baking.