Phoebe Wood - The Pie Project: Hot. Cold. Hand. Cheat. 60 pies, all of them sweet.

CONTENTS

Phoebe: My obsession with pies began during a three-month trip to New York City almost three years ago. In desperate need for a change, I had quit my job, packed up my life and travelled to a city that I had never been to and where I barely knew a soul. I spent those three months exploring any and every part of the city I happened to end up in that day. Ten kilos (twenty-two pounds) later, I had well and truly eaten my fair share of pies (oh, and doughnuts) and had a crack at making my own on my first Thanksgiving (it was pecan and chocolate, thank you!).

Its hard to put my finger on why pies struck such a special chord with me, but I just loved how pie had a real culture in the States. It seemed to me like it was something that everyone knew how to make over there, and everyone had a family recipe or a favourite filling they would recommend. Blogs, websites and cookbooks recite the history of pies and record thousands of attempts at the perfect crust. There are entire shops, such as the Four and Twenty Blackbirds pie shop in New York, solely devoted to selling their single product: pie. And Christina Tosis Crack Pie has a cult following all around the world! Pie was a revelation to me.

When I came home to Sydney, I spent months perfecting the art of the pie crust, which was so different from the style of pastry I was used to making. Pie pastry is rich with thick chunks of good-quality butter, and it usually has a little vinegar added to it to prevent gluten-strands from forming, resulting in a perfectly flaky, crunchy crust. Weekends were consumed in pursuit of pie perfection and new filling combinations, much to the delight of my friends and family. It was on a Sunday when the idea struck me: I had to write a book about pies. Who could I convince to do it with me? Only one person came to mind.

Kirsten: Even before meeting Phoebe I had heard everything about her! We were only a couple of years apart at TAFE (college) and had the same teachers there. We started at two different food magazines at the same time and the food industry is so small we knew all the same people. Only we had never met. Our paths finally crossed when Phoebe came home from New York to work on SBSs Feast magazine, where at the time I was freelancing. We instantly hit it off with our first phone conversation consisting of only laughter (and a bit about food)! We had, and still have, the same philosophy when it comes to food. It was so nice finding someone on that same page.

Phoebe: When people meet Kirsten, they suffer what I like to call the Kirsten effect. Shes good at just about everything, but when it comes to styling, she takes things to another level. Ive learned so much from her and we are constantly challenging each other to be better. The fact that she happens to be pretty handy with a camera is a bonus. My proposal was via text and read something like, Hey, how would you feel about shooting a cookbook? and she instantly wrote back: Yes. From the beginning, Kirsten was my constant motivation for making this project the absolute best it could be.

Kirsten: This was a pretty easy proposition: come up with a dream vision of what you want your book to look like, collect props, choose backgrounds and construct graphic images that reflect both of your personalities.

Both: This book is all about experimentation, appreciation and enjoyment. No matter how many times you make a pie, it is always different. One day its a sugary jam explosion; the next day its the flakiest crust youve ever eaten. We want people to feel fearless and confident when they cut the butter through their first pastry. We want people to experience the wonderful anticipation and joy of baking and know that no result will be bad, just different. This is not a book about French patisserie or fine-dining desserts, these are just really good recipes for the home cook to blow the socks off their friends and family. This book is about a project that we really believe in and is wholly ours: our vision and recipes, our triumphs and failures. Our friends and family were our taste testers, our critics and our supporters, and we received looks of awe, elation and some definite looks of confusion (those ones didnt make it in, we promise). We truly hope that every pie you make will tell a new story, and you make it your own personal pie project.

My mum used to make a killer retro salad: strawberries, baby spinach and balsamic vinegar. I loved it. The sweetness of the summer strawberries blended with the balsamic vinegar to make a tart salad dressing. It was really kitsch but I thought it was great when it got rolled out for summer barbecues. The same combination works just as well in this pie, especially with the addition of strawberries best friend, rhubarb. Kirsten

Serves 8

2 435 g (15 oz) frozen Careme vanilla bean pastry, thawed, or other bought sweet shortcrust rolled to a thickness of 3 mm ( in)

1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 5 cm (2 in) pieces

1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped

220 g (8 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

3 thyme sprigs

2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) strawberries, hulled and halved

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line a 20 cm (8 in) pie dish with one of the pastry sheets, leaving a 1 cm ( in) overhang. Line the pastry case with baking paper, fill with baking beads (or uncooked rice or dried beans) and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is just dry and light golden. Remove the paper and baking beads and leave to cool. Cut the remaining pastry sheet into eight 4 cm (1 in) strips. Chill the strips while you make the filling.

Cook the rhubarb, vanilla, caster sugar and thyme sprigs with 60 ml (2 fl oz/ cup) of water in a large deep frying pan over medium heat. Carefully stir until the sugar starts to dissolve, then reduce the heat to mediumlow, cover and simmer for 8 minutes or until the rhubarb is almost tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rhubarb to a colander set over a bowl and discard the thyme sprigs. Leave to drain very well.

Combine the rhubarb syrup with the cornflour and return to the pan set over medium heat. Boil for 10 minutes or until thick and syrupy then leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Carefully fold the rhubarb through the syrup followed by the strawberries and balsamic vinegar. Spread the cooled filling into the pastry case.

Make a top with the cooled strips and place it over the filling. Trim any excess, pinching the edges to seal. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Place on a baking tray and bake for 55 minutes or until golden. Rest for 30 minutes before serving.