makes
12
prep
45 minutes
cook
25 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
12
serves
preparation
45
minutes
cooking
25
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 100 g bacon, finely diced
- 1 leek, white part only, washed and finely sliced
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Yoghurt cream pastry
- 200 g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 300 g (2 cups) plain flour, chilled
- ½ tsp salt
- 150 g yoghurt, chilled
- 50 ml pouring cream, chilled
Chilling time 2 hours
Instructions
To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour and salt, or use a food processor, but try to keep everything cool. Stir or pulse in the yoghurt and cream until the pastry is just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Grease 12 holes of a muffin pan. Divide the pastry into 12 and roll into balls. Press, or roll out the dough to about 8 cm discs, or to fit half way up the sides of the greased muffin holes. Be prepared; this recipe makes a short pastry that is good for eating, not for rolling. We sometimes press it into the tins rather than roll it. Sometimes we roll it between sheets of plastic wrap, sometimes between sheets of baking paper. Do whatever works for you, but don’t let it warm too much or you’ll have trouble doing anything with it. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 200 ˚C.
Place the bacon in a medium frying pan and cook over medium heat until the fat has rendered, adding the leek when there’s a little fat in the pan. If you have lean bacon, we do feel sorry for you, but you can add 20 g butter or more to help everything fry. Cook until the leek is tender and sweet. Remove from the heat and cool a little, then spoon a little mixture into each pastry lined muffin hole.
Whisk the egg with the milk and a little salt and pepper and pour a little of this mixture into each pie casing, just to moisten the bacon and leek. Don’t add so much that the mix overflows, or you’ll have trouble getting the pies from the tins. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is cooked (just be sure to check the bottom, too, as you want it browned, but not too dark).
Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then use a blunt knife to gently run around the pastry and remove from the tin. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Lucy Tweed. Food preparation by Tammi Kwok. Creative concept by Belinda So.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
