Pat's Kitchen Journal: Avocado Prawn Savoury Pie

This is my second homemade pie after the Curry Chicken Pie. Another wonderful experience, I found myself completing the pie much faster than before. Here, I needed to blind bake the crust twice to 80% cooked before filling the ingredients.
It is such a delicious pie, glad that I bought this book, I can learn even more pie recipes here.

It could be a very filling and satisfying dinner for a family of 4 or 5 people, good to serve with a plate of green salad and a glass of white wine!

Filling

Avocado 135g
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Black pepper 1/4 tsp

Potato 150g (peeled)
Hard boiled egg 2 eggs

Big Prawn 125g (about 14 pieces)
Salt 1/2 tsp
Black pepper 1/2 tsp

Tasty cheese 50g
Mayonaise 65g

Bechamel sauce

Unsalted butter 40g
Cake flour 30g
Milk 175g

Preparations ( Filling)

1) Peel off the Avocado skin, cut into 14 slices, thickness is about 0.4-0.5mm each. Mix in with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Set aside.

2) Peel off the skin of the Potato, cut into small cubes, steam to cook through. Drain out the excess water. Let cool, set aside.

3) Peel off the skin of the Prawns, clean and dry it with kitchen paper towel. Using 10g butter, pan-fry both sides until it is cooked. Set aside.

4) Cut the hard boiled egg into small cubes.

5) Make bechamel sauce: Over low heat, stir to dissolve butter in the pan. Add in cake flour, constantly stirring until it is well combine. When it starts bubbling, gradually add in the milk, keep stirring until it is well combine. Remove from heat, mix in with potato, hard boiled egg and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Last, stir and mix in 65g mayonaise. Set aside.

Pastry ingredients
Cake flour 150g
Salt 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter 65g ( I cut it into small cubes, kept it in the freezer for one hour before use)
Egg mixture (Beaten whole egg 30g + Icy water 20g mix together)

Egg wash has to be sifted thorough a fine sieve before use.

Methods
Flour and salt go in the food processor. Pulse to mix.
Add in the butter. Pulse butter to lima bean size.
1 tablespoon at a time, pour in the egg mixture through the feeding tube while continue to pulse until a rough dough just formed( you don't want to over mix it).
Gather the dough ( no kneading),wrap with cling film, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Between two cling films, roll the dough into about a 12 inch round pie crust ( this is to allow extra bits for the edges).
Using one hand, flip the crust onto the pie pan.
Smoothen the surface, make sure the edges are nicely done. Cut off excess pastry and use it to patch up bald spots at the sides.

Cover and let it chill to firm for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven 180-190C ( I had a pan filled with boiling water on lower shelf of the oven throughout the whole entire baking session).
Prick the chilled crust with a fork.
Place a foil slightly larger than the size of the pie pan, over the top, with the pie weights in it, organize the egdes nicely making sure no crust exposing the surface.
Bake for 10 minutes (this is to ensure the crust is half-cooked).

Let it rest on the counter for 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, lower and preheat oven to 160-170C.
Remove the pie weights and the foil.
Brush a layer of egg wash ( beaten egg, sifted with fine sieve) on the surface and edges of the pie crust.
Send it back to the oven and bake for 1 to 2 minutes( this is to ensure the pie is 80% cooked).
( when you remove the crust out, it should look slightly darker colour than the first bake)

Adjust the oven and preheat to 210C.
Pour in the bechamel sauce into the pie pan, smoothen it using a flat spatula.
Place alternately the Avocado and Prawn side by side, round the pie pan.
Sprinkle with the tasty cheese (50g) all over the top, put more on the centre of the pie.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tasty cheese is melted and turns golden brown. It's done.