Pastis Made Easy Food

PASTIS MADE EASY

Steps:

• Per serving: Pour 1 ounce of pastis and 4 to 5 ounces of water into a highball glass.
• Add ice to fill, and stir.

BEEF PASTIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a fourth of the dough into an 8-in. circle. Mound 1 cup filling on half of circle. Moisten edges with water; fold crust over filling and press the edges with a fork to seal. , Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cut slits in top of each; brush with cream. Bake at 450° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

MOTHER'S PASTIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, carrots, onion, salt and pepper. Crumble beef and pork over potato mixture and mix well. Add butter and toss to coat; set aside. , For pastry, in a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms. , Divide dough into five portions; roll each into a 10-in. circle. Place 1 cup of filling in the center of each circle. Fold pastry over filling and seal edges tightly with a fork; cut slits in the top of each. , Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

CARAMEL APPLE PASTIS

Steps:

• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Reserve 2 tablespoons almonds and evenly spread remaining almonds on a baking sheet, then toast in upper third of oven until golden, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Increase oven temperature to 400°F. 3Toss apple wedges with lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a large bowl.
• Cook 1 tablespoon butter with honey and granulated sugar in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring constantly and carefully with a wooden spoon (mixture will foam), until mixture is deep golden, about 6 minutes.
• Carefully add apples (caramel will harden, then liquefy), stirring gently from bottom of skillet to coat apples with caramel, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain apples in a colander set over a large bowl, reserving caramel. Transfer apples to another bowl and stir in toasted almonds. Pour caramel through a fine-mesh sieve into a 2-quart heavy saucepan and discard any solids. Simmer briskly until liquid is reduced to a thick glaze (about 1/3 cup), 5 to 10 minutes. Keep slightly warm or at room temperature.
• Stir together confectioners sugar and remaining 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and transfer to a fine-mesh sieve or a sifter.
• Brush springform pan with some of remaining butter. Cover stack of phyllo with plastic wrap and a dampened kitchen towel. Keeping remaining phyllo covered, lay 1 sheet on a work surface and brush with butter, then dust lightly with cinnamon sugar. Lift buttered phyllo and gently fit into pan with ends overhanging. Rotate pan slightly, then butter and sugar another sheet and place in pan. (Sheets should not align.) Repeat with 7 more sheets, rotating pan each time so overhang of sheets covers entire rim.
• Spread apple mixture evenly in phyllo shell and smooth top.
• Brush remaining sheet phyllo with butter and dust with some of cinnamon sugar and lay over filling, gently crumpling sheet slightly to fit in pan. Bring edges of overhanging bottom sheets up and over filling and top sheet to enclose. (Phyllo should look rustic, but avoid tall peaks, as they can burn.) Brush top with remaining butter and sprinkle with reserved almonds. Sift cinnamon sugar generously over pastis and bake in lower third of oven until top is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Increase oven temperature to 425°F and continue baking until top is deep golden brown and shiny, about 15 minutes. (Some edges may get very dark). Cool pastis in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Remove side of pan carefully and cool pastis 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter and cut into wedges with a serrated knife. Serve warm or at room temperature with caramel sauce.

PASTIES II

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine meat, potatoes, onion, rutabaga and chopped carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Divide dough into six pieces, and shape into balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6 inch round. Place approximately 1 cup filling on one half of each. Dot each with 1 tablespoon margarine. Draw the other half of the pastry over the filling. Crimp edges to seal in filling. Prick with a fork and place on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

DIY PASTIS RECIPE

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle, roughly break up anise, licorice root, fennel, coriander, and anise. Add them to a sealable glass jar along with vodka. Seal and shake, then let steep for 5 days at room temperature away from direct sunlight, shaking occasionally.
• Boil sugar and water together until integrated into a light syrup, about 7 minutes. While the syrup is cooling, strain the spices out of the vodka mixture through a cheesecloth lining a fine-mesh strainer. Strain twice if necessary to remove all sediment.
• Once syrup is cool add it to the strained vodka infusion and shake. Let rest for 4 days or more before use. Store at room temperature for up to 4 months.

PASTéIS DE NATA (PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS)

Steps:

• Using a pastry brush, grease eight individual pastry tins generously with the melted butter, then chill in the fridge. Put the butter between two sheets of baking parchment, then bash and roll into a large rectangle roughly the thickness of a £1 coin. In a large bowl, mix the flour with 150ml water and a pinch of salt using a wooden spoon. Tip the dough onto a clean surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth.
• Shape the dough into a rough rectangle, cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for 20 mins. If your butter is getting too soft, put it in the fridge to chill too. Roll the dough out into a large, thin rectangle at least twice the size of the butter. Put the butter in the middle of the dough, fold all the edges up over it to encase it, then fold the dough over itself in half.
• Roll out the dough to roughly half its original size, then fold in half, then half again to make a rectangle a quarter the size of the original. Repeat this process once more, flouring your work surface if you need to. Don't worry about being too precise here, or if the butter starts breaking through some of the layers. Cover and put the pastry in the fridge to rest for 20 mins.
• On a floured surface roll the chilled dough into a thin A3-sized rectangle, then roll it up lengthways into a tight sausage shape. Divide the pastry into three, the middle section will make your perfect looking tarts, then wrap and freeze the rest for another time. (It would also make delicious palmier biscuits if you roll it out and sprinkle with sugar.)
• Slice the pastry into 8 discs. Work the discs into the tins with your fingers, pressing and stretching them to fill the tins. If the layers start to come apart, press them back together. Chill while you make the custard.
• In a pan, warm 150ml milk with the cinnamon stick, lemon peel and half the butter until just simmering and the butter has melted. In a large bowl, sieve the cornflour and flour into the remaining milk and whisk to form a thin paste. Pour the warm milk mixture over the flour paste and leave to infuse for a few mins. Sieve the custard back into the pan, heat gently and keep stirring for 3-4 mins until it reaches the consistency of double cream. Take off the heat and blend in the remaining butter.
• Put the syrup ingredients in a frying pan and stir over a medium heat for 5 mins until you have a light, fragrant caramel. Take the pan off the heat and carefully pour in 100ml water. Return the pan to a low heat until the sugar has melted again into a syrup. Strain into a bowl.
• Slowly add half the syrup to the custard and whisk until completely blended. You can store the custard in the fridge from this point, but don't add the eggs until just before you are ready to cook the tarts. Heat your oven to 260C/240C fan/gas 8 or as high as your oven will go. Put a baking tray on the top shelf of the oven to heat up. Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl, then incorporate into the custard. Pour the mixture into the pastry bases.
• Put the filled tin on the hot baking tray. Put the tray in the middle of the oven and bake for 5- 8 mins, or until the custard starts to puff up. Once the custard has puffed up, turn the oven onto its grill setting and transfer the tarts to the top shelf. Grill for 1-2 mins or until caramelised - the darker the better. Remove from the oven and brush with a little of the remaining syrup. Let the tarts cool slightly in the moulds before turning out onto a cooling rack.