Broccoli and Gorgonzola Pie

You know those recipes that feel like they were written specifically for you?  This Broccoli and Gorgonzola Pie is one of those recipes for me.  This pie is packed with everything I crave on a regular basis: flaky buttery pastry, loads of broccoli, robust Gorgonzola cheese, and a luscious creamy mustard sauce.  My friend, Michelle of Ms. enPlace, shared this pie last week and I've craved it ever since. It's total heaven!

Funny enough, I put off making this pie for two reasons. The biggest reason being that no one else in the house cares for broccoli, mustard, or blue cheese.  

Translation: Mom will have to eat the entire pie herself! 

 Danger: Mom will eat the entire pie herself!

Secondly, I'm a complete novice when it comes to puff pastry. 

 Confession: Pastry dough is my least favorite task in the kitchen.

However, last week I had the pleasure of using puff pastry for the very first time and would you believe it....I actually enjoyed it! I always figured puff pastry would be difficult to work with, but it is as simple as opening the package, thawing out the dough, and rolling/shaping it to the desired size.  There's simply nothing to it!  The puff pastry doesn't fall apart or tear and it's not even difficult to transfer or move around. I can honestly say I don't mind working with puff pastry at all.  In fact, I look forward to the next time!

As for this pie....I did end up eating it all by myself.  Every single delicious bite.  It was worth every single calorie.

Broccoli and Gorgonzola Pie

Adapted from Plenty

by Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves 6

One sheet of puff pastry

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

2 tablespoons butter

2 shallots, minced

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup chopped scallions

3 tablespoons dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

2 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled

1 egg, beaten

Note: I did make quite a few changes to this pie to lighten it up.  The original recipe calls for two sheets of puff pastry and a whole lot more cheese, which I'm sure is quite delicious.  That recipe can be found here. 

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Roll out the puff pastry until it is 1/8" thick and large enough to line a 10-inch loose bottomed tart pan.  Line the tart pan with the puff pastry and trim off the excess pastry (reserve excess pastry to decorate the top of the pie).  Place tart pan (with the puff pastry inside of it) in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.  

Remove the tart pan from the freezer.  Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill it with baking beans.  Bake blind for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light brown.  Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven to bake for about 5 minutes, or until the bottom of the shell is golden  Leave to cool down.

While the tart shell is baking, prepare the filling.  I steamed my broccoli, but you can cook the broccoli florets in a large pan of boiling water for about 2 minutes, or until tender but still firm.  Drain in a colander, rinse well with cold water and leave to dry. 

Melt the butter in a pan and fry the shallots on gentle heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft but not colored.  Add the cream, water, scallions, mustard, salt and some black pepper.  Cook over low heat until mixture thickens and then remove from heat.  

To assemble, spread the shallot mixture over the bottom of the pastry case.  Scatter the broccoli on top and gently press into the shallot mix.  Dot with Gorgonzola.  Decorate the top of the pie with the remaining pieces of puff pastry.  Feel free to cut out shapes or strips.  I just cut my leftover pastry into squares and the placed the squares on top. 

If you wish, glaze the decorative puff pastry with a little beaten egg and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.  Allow to cool a little before removing from the pan.

Theme: New To Me!