Rough Puff Pastry (this can be made alongside the filling or ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to two days)
- First, sift flour, sea salt and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add cold cubed butter and rub between fingertips until incorporated (the butter should look smeared, yet also crumbly).
- Adding a spoonful at a time, sprinkle in ice water and toss the flour-butter mixture with a fork to moisten throughout. Continue adding spoonfuls (not all at once) and tossing until the dough holds together well (about 5-7 tbsp. water). It will look a little shaggy. Turn onto a flour board and pat until about an inch thick. Shape into a square or rectangle before covering with plastic wrap and setting in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Remove dough from the fridge and turn onto a lightly floured board. Roll out in a rectangular shape until about 1/4” thick. Use the sides of your hands or a bench scrapper to lightly tap and shape the dough into a rectangle with straight edges. Fold the top third of the dough down and the bottom third of the dough up on top of that (like folding a business letter), brushing away excess flour with a pastry brush. Return to the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Remove dough from the fridge, and repeat step 3, adding more flour to the board as needed.
- After the dough has sat in the fridge now three times and has been folded twice, remove from the fridge for the last time and roll out until 1/8 ” thick. You are now ready to place the puffed pastry into a deep-dish pie pan (or a parchment-lined spring-form pan). Reserve half of the rolled dough for the top crust and place on a plate. Return the top and bottom crusts to the fridge to chill until ready to use.*Note: If using store-bought dough, roll out until 1/8” and press half into a deep-dish pie pan, crimping edges. Place the other rolled half onto a plate and put that and the pan into the fridge to chill.
Savory Pie Filling
- First, fill a small sauce pot with water and bring to a boil
- Wash and prep your fruit and vegetables, slicing and coring the apples and pears, slicing the potatoes, and dicing the scallions. Shred cheese and set all prepared ingredients aside.
- When the water is ready, parboil potatoes until a fork can just poke through them (do not over boil), about 4-5 mins. Drain and set aside.
- Cut bacon into bite-sized pieces (about 1/2” thick) and put in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Save the bacon fat as you go, ladling from the pan into a ramekin as necessary. Cook until slightly crisp (it will continue cooking within the pie), then remove and place bacon bits on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the grease.
- Add parboiled potatoes to the same frying pan on medium heat, add bacon fat and fresh black pepper to taste. Sauté until slightly brown (about 5-6 minutes), flipping potato slices with a fork to evenly brown. Remove from pan, reserving leftover bacon fat, and set potatoes aside.
- Finally, add diced scallions to the same hot pan and crack fresh pepper on top. Pour in 1/3 cup Weaver’s Apple Cider to deglaze the pan and make a scallion-bacon-cider reduction with the diced scallions. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce is syrupy and bubbly, and the scallions have wilted down a bit. Remove from pan and set aside.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350F. Remove chilled and prepared pie pan from the fridge and gather all of your filling ingredients before you begin.
- This pie involves layering all of the filling ingredients into the pie shell. Here is a recommended ordering: First, make an even layer of the sliced apples on the bottom of the pie pan, fanning the fruit in a circle. Next, add half of the shredded cheese and top with pepper and ½ tsp. nutmeg. Next come the potatoes; spread these evenly, adding a pinch of salt. After this, add the generous portion of cooked bacon. Next, add a layer of the sautéed scallions. Afterwards, add half of the remaining cheese (1/4
of the original amount) for a light layer of cheese and add the remaining 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. Finally, add the sliced pear, fanning the fruit so that it completely covers the surface of the pie. Top with remaining cheese and fresh-cracked pepper.
- Cover the heaping pie with your top crust and crimp edges until sealed. Add steam holes by poking with a fork or making slits with a knife. Cut out any extra dough pieces with cookie cutters and arrange as decorations on top of the pie if you wish.
- Beat egg in a small bowl and, using a pastry brush, coat the pie in an egg wash to better brown crust. Optional: One additional recommendation is to use a metal crust shield or strips of aluminum foil to cover the edges of the pie to avoid burning.
- Pop the pie into the oven and bake for 25 mins at 350F. Raise the temperature to 375F and remove aluminum foil edges or crust shield. Continue to bake another 5-15 minutes (30-40 mins in total) or until crust is a golden brown. Remove from oven and wait 5-10 mins to allow the pie to set. Cut hearty slices and enjoy by itself or with a favorite Swiss-inspired side!