Over The Rainbow Picnic Pie

Since the end of May/beginning of June when social distancing relaxed to the point we were allowed to have outdoor social gatherings with a limited number of people (which to me spelt PICNICS) I have had a few. Picnics that is! How awesome to have lots of chance to make picnic creations that could be used for THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE-OFF 2020 SUMMER PICNIC!!!

But to me…of all my picnic creations, this is the pièce de résistance. It is a Rainbow Picnic Pie that I made back in May for the first picnic I had with friends since the social distancing restrictions came into place in March. The photograph directly below is not my pie. This is what I was aiming for. You will have to scroll down to the bottom to see how my pie turned out.

I followed the recipe below from the BBC Good Food website, although I toll a couple of liberties.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/veggie-rainbow-picnic-pie

Here is a step-by-step run through of my Rainbow Picnic Pie journey!!! Could there be anything more fabulous than a Rainbow Picnic Pie I ask you!!!???

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So to start with, here are the ingredients I used (….oh I forgot to add you need a little flour for dusting when you roll the pastry)

• 450g butternut squash, peeled, sliced and cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion sliced (I used two because I love onions)
• 550g small waxy potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 2 x 375g blocks all-butter puff pastry
• 1 x 320g ready-rolled sheet all-butter puff pastry
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 300g pack cooked beetroot sliced (I used a jar of already sliced beetroot)
• 450g jar roasted red peppers, drained
• 200g block feta cheese
• 150g frozen peas
• small bunch each parsley  and mint, chopped
• 10 eggs (yes, I know that is a lot of eggs!!!)
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

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First of all pre-heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

The butternut squash has to be sliced….I sliced all my vegetables so they were roughly the same thickness…no more than half a centimeter.

I then drizzled the slices of butternut squash in 1 tbsp oil and some seasoning and roasted them for 20 mins until they were softened.

Then the potatoes were peeled and I sliced them to half centimeter slices and boiled them for eight minutes.

The sliced onions I gently fried in olive oil for just over ten minutes until they were soft

Then the butternut squash, onion and potatoes need to cool before they can be used to fill the pie.

Now….I didn’t take a photograph, but it is important to line the baking tin (I used a 20x30cm deep pie tin) with at least two layers of baking parchment/greaseproof paper. It will be so much easier to remove if you do this. If you forget to do this…well…just don’t forget!!!

So….now we come to the pastry section. I rolled out the two blocks of puff pastry into one large rectangle. The pastry should  not be too thin. Aim for around the thickness of a pound coin. Drape it into the pie tin leaving an overhang of pastry over the rim.

Then the rainbow filling process. I filled the pies pastry with the following layers:

• breadcrumbs
• beetroot
• roasted red peppers
• butternut squash
• onions
• feta cheese
• potatoes
• frozen peas
• herbs

I completely to forgot to season each layer, which the recipe says to do so. I think I was distracted by taking photographs. The pie still tasted great but I gave it a twist of salt and pepper over the top.

Then I took those ten eggs and beat them up before pouring them slowly over the vegetable layers. The egg manages to find it’s way through all the gaps. I left a tiny bit of egg to use on the pastry.

I also used some of the egg to brush the overhanging pastry.

Then I unrolled the sheet of puff pastry to create a lid for the pie. I pinched the edged together and with a sharp knife I removed the excess pastry.

I used the remaining egg to brush the pastry lid and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Then the pie went into the oven at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and it baked for an entire one hour and twenty minutes (while I did all the washing up, sipped a Martini and lemonade and watched an episode of Pride & Prejudice).

After one hour and twenty minutes, this beauty came out of the oven:

Then I had to wait anxiously for the pie to cool before I could remove it from the tin and slice into it.

When I did slice into it, I had the joy of seeing exactly what I hoped….a rainbow!!!

Cool hey!!!!

I made it just on time for the social distancing rules to slightly ease. I chilled the pie and it was perfect for a Sunday picnic with a few friends, which was the first social event I had enjoyed in almost three months!

That pie was demolished very quickly. Everyone thought it was fabulous! I hope you did too!!!

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