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Christmas: Brie and Red Bell Pepper Pie

Source of Recipe

From "Camille Glenn's Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookbook"


Recipe Introduction

"When this savory pie comes from the oven, all puffed up in its glory and beauty, it is the gourmet's dream come true."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Flaky Butter Pastry dough for a 9-inch single-crust pie
â—¦ 9 ounces Brie or Camembert cheese
â—¦ ½ cup finely slivered red bell pepper
â—¦ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ 2 large eggs
â—¦ 1 large egg yolk
â—¦ â…” cup heavy or whipping cream
â—¦ Salt to taste
â—¦ Cayenne pepper to taste


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Line an ovenproof glass pie plate with the pastry, allowing a little slack for the pastry to shrink slightly, and trim the edges.

Remove the rind from the cheese and chop the cheese.
Sprinkle the cheese and bell pepper over the pastry. Dot with the butter. Combine the eggs, egg yolk, and cream thoroughly with a whisk. Season with salt and cayenne and spoon over the cheese.

Place the pie on the lowest rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until the top and the crust are golden brown. The pie is done when a knife inserted a few inches from the center comes out clean. Serve the pie warm.

Serves 6 to 8



Flaky Butter Pastry:

This is the quintessential butter pastry. It does not rank second to puff paste—it stands alone. With a versatility few crusts have, it is still the easiest of all to blend and roll, and the flavor is unsurpassed. This is the pastry I teach first to a new student, and it always remains a favorite.

â—¦ 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
â—¦ Pinch of salt
â—¦ 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
â—¦ ½ cup ice water, or as needed

Sift the flour and salt together into a mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut the pieces of butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture a little at a time, blending it in quickly and lightly with your fingers; then squeeze the dough together. Work fast, as the mixture must stay cold. If the dough is not soft enough to form into a ball easily, add a little more water.

Form the dough into a ball and cut it in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface or pastry cloth. (If you are not going to use it at once, cover the dough with foil and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.) As soon as the dough is rolled out, fit it into the pie plate. Cover it with foil and refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to use it.

Makes 1 crust