I’ve always been intimidated by homemade pie crusts as I really don’t understand the whole butter ordeal. I mean, yeah, I see the science behind it, but copious amounts of butter required and fussiness of a dough making process seem a bit excessive. So I simply concluded that pies aren’t worth it.

But then I started thinking, what if I used heavy cream instead of butter? The cream is also quite rich with fats, but of course still lighter than butter. Plus, it’s a wet ingredient, which makes the dough making process far easier. And then I tried it. And a glorious, flakey, delicious pie happened.

Admittedly, this pie does take some work. But you can divide it all up between two or even three days, to make the whole process less daunting. And trust me when I say this, this pie is magnificent and absolutely worth the labor.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 1 pie / 6.15 EUR)

For the pie crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour (0.13 EUR)

½ tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

1 cup heavy cream (1.00 EUR)

1-2 tbsp water (–)

For the meat:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (2.00 EUR)

½ tsp salt (0.01 EUR)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper (0.03 EUR)

2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika (0.07 EUR)

2 tbsp sunflower seed oil (0.03 EUR)

For the sauce:

1 tsp sunflower seed oil (0.01 EUR)

1 onion (0.10 EUR)

1 tbsp butter (0.13 EUR)

250 grams oyster mushrooms (1.33 EUR)

Pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.02 EUR)

½ cup white wine (0.47 EUR)

1 cup crème fraiche (0.67 EUR)

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (0.13 EUR)

METHOD:

Make the pie dough by whisking together flour and salt. Add in heavy cream, then stir to combine. Knead the dough lightly, until you are able to shape it into a disc. If needed, add a tiny bit of water, a tablespoon at the time. Be sure not to overwork your dough, as you don’t want the gluten to go crazy, since that will make the dough chewy and not flakey. A patchy dough is perfect. Once the dough comes together, divide it into two. Shape each half into a disc, wrap individually in cling foil and refrigerate for at least half an hour, but up to three days in advance.

Prepare your chicken by cutting it into small chunks. Toss together with salt, black pepper and paprika. Refrigerate for at least half an hour, but also up to two days in advance. The more the chicken sits in this marinade, the more flavor it will soak up.

Place a non-stick skillet on medium high heat and cook the chicken with a bit of oil until slightly crispy. I find that it’s better to do it in two batches, as this ensures more crispiness and even cooking. While your chicken is cooking, finely dice the onion and chop up oyster mushrooms into small pieces.

Remove all the chicken from the pan and set aside. To the same pan, add a tablespoon of oil and sauté the onion until softened and translucent. Add in the butter, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Stir and cook until the mushrooms reduce in size, for about 5 minutes, before adding in white wine. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes, until alcohol evaporates from the wine. Return the chicken to the pan, remove from heat and stir in crème fraiche and parsley.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out your pie dough into two thin sheets. Place one sheet into a bottom of a pie tin and prick it with fork. Add in the prepared chicken and mushroom filling, even out with a spatula, then cover with another sheet of dough. Be sure to cut a few holes in the top crust as well, so that steam can escape while the pie is cooking. Cut the excess dough, then tightly wrap the top and bottom pie edges together. You can give your pie a light brushing for better crisp and color – you can use egg, oil, butter or crème fraiche for this (I used a bit of crème fraiche).

Bake the pie between 1 hour and 1 hour and 10 minutes, until crispy and golden brown on top. If your top crust is browning a bit too quickly, just lower the pie to the bottom third of the oven. Allow the pie to rest for about 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This pie also reheats great, so you can enjoy it for several days.

Domaće tijesto za pitu mi se uvijek činilo kao nešto strašno i komplicirano jer mi cijela ta procedura oko maslaca nikada nije bila baš najjasnija. Da, shvaćam znanost iza svega, ali enormne količine maslaca i cijela prtljancija oko miješanja tijesta su mi bili previše. Tako da sam jednostavno zaključila da pite nisu za mene.

Ali onda mi je palo na pamet da bi maslac mogla zamijeniti slatkim vrhnjem. I slatko vrhnje je samo po sebi dosta masno, ali je ipak laganije od maslaca. Osim toga, radi se o mokrom sastojku, pa će odmah i tijesto biti jednostavnije za napraviti. Kada sam to isprobala oduševila sam se, a pita mi je ispala savršena, hrskava i ukusna.

Priznajem, oko ove pite ima dosta posla, ali se sve može podijeliti kroz dva ili čak tri dana, pa je onda sve to manje zastrašujuće. A vjerujte mi kada vam kažem da je ova pita tako fina da se sav trud apsolutno isplati.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 1 pitu / 45,98 kn)

Za tijesto:

2 šalice glatkog brašna (1,00 kn)

½ žličice soli (0,01 kn)

1 šalica slatkog vrhnja (7,50 kn)

1-2 žlice vode (–)

Za meso:

1 pileća prsa bez kostiju i kože (15,00 kn)

½ žličice soli (0,01 kn)

½ žličice svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,25 kn)

2 žličice slatke paprike (0,50 kn)

2 žlice suncokretovog ulja (0,20 kn)

Za umak:

1 žlica suncokretovog ulja (0,10 kn)

1 luk (0,75 kn)

1 žlica maslaca (1,00 kn)

250 g bukovača (10,00 kn)

Prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,15 kn)

½ šalice bijelog vina (3,50 kn)

1 šalica milerama (5,00 kn)

2 žlice svježeg sjeckanog peršina (1,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Tijesto za pitu pripremite tako da skupa pomiješate brašno i sol. Dodajte slatko vrhnje, pa miješajte da se sjedini. Kratko promijesite tijesto, tek toliko koliko treba da ga formirate u disk. Po potrebi dodajte mrvicu vode, žlicu po žlicu. Pazite da ne mijestite tijesto previše jer ne želite previše razraditi gluten da tijesto ne bude žilavo umjesto hrskavo. Ako vam je tijesto prošarano flekama, to je savršeno. Tijesto podijelite na dva dijela, svaki spljoštite u disk, te ga čvrsto umotajte u prijanjajuću foliju. Stavite u hladnjak na barem pola sata, ali i do 3 dana unaprijed.

Piletinu narežite na male komadiće i pomiješajte sa solju, paprom i paprikom. Stavite u hladnjak na barem dva sata, ali i do dva dana. Što meso duže bude stajalo u marinadi, to će biti ukusnije.

Neprijanjajuću tavu stavite na srednju vatru i popecite piletinu na malo ulja dok ne bude hrskava. Meni je bolje meso ispeći u dvije ture, kako bi se sve lijepo zahsrskalo. Dok se piletina peče nasjeckajte luk na kockice i gljive narežite na komadiće.

Svu piletinu maknite iz tave i stavite na stranu. U istu tavu dodajte žlicu ulja pa prodinstajte luk dok ne bude staklast i ne omekša. Dodajte maslac, gljive, sol i papar. Promiješajte i kuhajte dok se volumen gljiva ne smanji, oko 5 minuta, pa onda ulijte vino. Krčkajte jedno 2-3 minute da alkohol ispari. Vratite u tavu piletinu, maknite tavu s vatre, te u sve umiješajte mileram.

Zagrijte pećnicu na 180°C. Tijesto za pitu razvaljajte u dvije tanke plahte. Jedan komad tijesta utisnite u kalup za pitu te ga izbockajte vilicom. Dodajte pripremljeni nadjev od piletine i gljiva, poravnajte špatulom, pa poklopite drugom plahtom tijesta. Obavezno napravite par rupa na gornjoj plahti, kako bi para od kuhanja mogla izaći van. Višak tijesta koji visi preko rubova odrežite, a rubove čvrsto spojite i zamotajte. Pitu još možete premazati kako bi bila ljepše boje kada se ispeče, a za to možete upotrijebiti jaje, ulje, maslac ili mileram (ja sam upotrijebila malo milerama).

Pitu pecite između 1 sat i 1 sat i 10 minuta, dok ne bude hrskava i zlatno smeđa. Ako vam pita sa gornje strane prenaglo tamni dok se peče, spustite ju na donju trećinu pećnice. Pustite pitu da 10 do 15 minuta odmori prije nego ju narežete i poslužite. Ova pita se također i super podrgijava, tako da u njoj možete uživati i nekoliko dana.