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Christmas: Smithfield Ham and Potato Pie

Source of Recipe

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


Recipe Introduction

"All the elements of this pie can be prepared and set aside overnight, then assembled the next day, baked, and served piping hot. With a green salad and dessert, what an elegant Christmas party, and so easy!"

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 4 or 5 large Idaho potatoes
â—¦ Standard pastry dough for a 2-crust pie
â—¦ 1 cup slivered baked Smithfield ham, Kentucky country ham, or prosciutto
â—¦ â…“ cup chopped fresh parsley
â—¦ 3 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram, or 1 ½ tablespoons dried marjoram
â—¦ Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
â—¦ 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
â—¦ ½ cup plus â…“ cup heavy or whipping cream
â—¦ 1 egg yolk


Recipe

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and slice them paper-thin; you should have 4 cups. Drop the potatoes into the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain at once, cover, and refrigerate.

While the potatoes are cooling, preheat the oven to 425° F.
Roll half the pastry out â…› inch thick and line a 10-inch ovenproof glass pie plate with it, allowing a 1-inch overhang around the rim. Arrange a layer of cooled potatoes in the bottom of the pastry-lined plate and sprinkle it with some of the ham, parsley, marjoram, salt, and white pepper. Dot with some of the butter. Repeat the layers until all the potatoes, seasonings, and butter are used up. Pour the ½ cup cream carefully over the potatoes.

Roll the top crust out very thin and place it over the pie. Cut a small hole in the center of the crust. Brush the edge of the bottom crust with water and crimp the top and bottom edges together with the tines of a fork. With a sharp knife, trim the crust even with the rim of the pie plate. Brush the top with a little of the remaining â…“ cup cream.

Place the pie plate on the lowest rack in the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes. If the edges brown too quickly, cover them with strips of aluminum foil; if the top browns too fast, lower the heat to 375° F and cover the pie loosely with foil. When the pie is golden brown on the bottom, remove it from the oven.

Mix the egg yolk with the remaining cream. Using a small funnel, pour the mixture very slowly and carefully through the center hole in the crust (you may not need all of the mixture). Return the pie to the oven for another 5 minutes. Allow the pie to cool only for about 5 minutes before serving (it should be served quite hot).

Serves 6 to 8



Standard Pastry:

â—¦ 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ â…” cup solid vegetable shortening, chilled
â—¦ 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

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

Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of the ice water over the flour 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—but it's easier if you roll it out at once.)

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.

Roll out the other half of the dough for the top crust. Place it on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, cover it with foil, and refrigerate or freeze it.

Makes 2 crusts