Marika Gauci - The Little Book of Pies: Sweet and Savoury Pies and Tarts For All Year Round

Contents

This little book of pie recipes packs a big punch in flavours and baking know-how.

Marika Gauci takes the fear out of pastry with simple, foolproof recipes, shows how to crimp, lattice or plait your pies for a perfect finish, plus how to store and reheat them so that not a crumb goes to waste.

Comforting classics include hearty Steak and Guinness and warming Chicken, Leek & Bacon; seasonal treats include perfect Minute Picnic Pasties and cheats Porky Pies; plus there are Mediterranean-inspired twists on the classics such as mouth-watering Italian Sausage & Pesto, fragrant Lamb, Lemon & Oregano and a unique Turkish Breakfast Pie. Sweet recipes include deep Cherry and Apple pies, portion-controlled Honey & Walnut 3-bite Tarlets and a smooth Chocolate, Date & Ginger tart.

Pies rule! They look good, taste good, and this gem of a cookbook will have you baking glorious golden-topped pies in your oven in no time.

List of Recipes

Marika Gauci is an Anglo-Greek former singer-songwriter and performer who traded a life of rock n roll for a life in the glorious food industry. After assisting in prestigious cookery schools and working as a chef, she cut loose and formed her own unique home cookery school in London, Marikas Kitchen.

Word of Londons only pie-making classes quickly spread, the media came calling and Marika found herself guesting as a pie expert on the Good Food Network and chatting live on BBC Radio London, while rave reviews came in from such luminaries as Delia Online, Olive magazine and more. Following the birth of her daughter, Marika has now returned to action, steering Marikas Kitchen to further success.

www.marikas-kitchen.com

Dedicated to Clive, our daughter Phaedra and my mother Maureen

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Version 1.0

Epub ISBN 9781448161126

www.randomhouse.co.uk

Published by Square Peg 2014
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Copyright Square Peg
Text Marika Gauci

Marika Gauci has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work

The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009

Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9780224095754

Design: ClarkevanMeurs Design
Photography: Sarah Cuttle
Copy editor: Laura Herring
Proofreader: Annie Lee
Author photo: Susanne Aichele

I run a cookery school and, since 2009, I have been giving the only British pie-making classes in London. My other classes have a fun, Mediterranean vibe, but the pie class is by far the most popular, with Londoners, tourists and people from all over the UK popping in to take part. It proves that the humble pie is still one of the nations favourite dinners and, of course, its one of mine, too.

So how did I end up running such a school? I originally left my home, in Cardiff, to form an indie band with my friend, Jayne. I say form a band; it felt more like joining the circus! In the 1990s we did all right (we were local heroes in Wales) and, after moving to London, generated an industry buzz. This led to sold-out singles, packed gigs, an American tour and even a major label deal. We had fun, but split up over musical differences and in separate limos. I soldiered on, writing, producing and performing and then, having discovered Italo disco, I co-ran events on the underground club circuit as well.

Six years ago I finally jumped off the Ferris wheel, the fall thankfully cushioned by another self-discovery: I realised that, despite all the partying and performing, there was a homey side to me, too! Even though I spent so much time writing recipes in between gigs, a career in cooking had never occurred to me but, when it happened, it felt inevitable and completely natural. It was like cooking had been waiting for me all these years but it had allowed me my freedom first.

My mother is my biggest inspiration. As a girl living in Newport, she learned how to cook from the family of an Italian friend. She effortlessly turns her hand to British fare and Mediterranean food and, growing up, I would watch her in the kitchen baking and cooking for hours.

Meanwhile , my fathers family are traditional Corfiot cooks. I spent summers in Corfu as a child helping and watching my aunties make trays of stuffed aubergines and peppers using ingredients freshly picked from their farm. Wed bake trays of rich, creamy pastitsio, and Id help turn the Celebratory Lamb on the spit I can still smell the lamb, lemon and oregano aromas to this day. My interest in and love of cooking was set, right then and there.

So, I decided to indulge in this new world of food and found that I thoroughly loved it. I began to research the markets (literally!), assist at cookery schools, host supper clubs, I attended a culinary college and eventually became a chef at The Real Greek in Hoxton. I really wanted to teach quality home cooking and, most of all, to instil the confidence to enjoy cooking in all new cooks. With all this behind me, in 2009 I opened Marikas Kitchen, my very own home cookery school that prides itself on its direct, unpretentious approach.

Why pie? When pondering just what defines the ultimate British home cookery course, I kept coming back to the classic pie. People from all walks of life love a good pie: it is comfort and joy all wrapped up in a pastry parcel. I decided right there that it was my calling to teach people the way of the PIE.

I was proved right: it was an immediate hit, from the small classes to mass pie-making clubs in bakeries across London. Of all my cookery classes, my pie class causes the most excitement (and even the odd tear of joy) in people, their faces full of pride as they see their own glorious golden pies rise out of the oven for the first time.

Pies rule! They look good, taste good and you want one right now!

So lets begin.

I love traditional enamel pie dishes, which come in a range of shapes and sizes. Metallic dishes are also good, giving your pie a lovely crisp, evenly browned bottom. Non-stick is third on my list. Unless you cheat and make a pie with just a pastry top, avoid buying ceramic or glass dishes because they are very bad conductors of heat. Measurements tend to be for rectangular dishes, but use whatever you have to hand. As well as pie dishes, I also use muffin and tart tins in the recipes in this book. Muffin tins are of the standard size, and I specify the appropriate dimensions for the tart tins in each recipe.