Pithivier and Baked Beet (?) Falafels

Pithivier
Funny word isn't it?  French Pronounced pith-e-v-ehr more or less.  The dish is nominally named after a French town where it was thought to originate.  I saw this done on a recent Great British Bakeoff finale episode, and it looked really interesting, and simple.  

Basically it's a dish-less pie with a puff pastry crust and a signature swirl decoration in the domed top.  The filling is always mounded in the center to give it the dome top, and the top is always egg-washed to get a nice shiny crust.

1 box Puff Pastry

8 oz small whole Crimini mushrooms, quartered

8oz sliced White Mushrooms, chopped

1 cup stemmed Spinach

1 medium Red Potato, diced small
1/2 cup shredded White Cheese blend

2 Shallots, sliced

2 Tbsp Basil Pesto

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

1/8 tsp Coriander

1/8 tsp Tarragon

¾ cup shredded Italian Blend cheese

¼ cup Half & half

1 Egg beaten (for egg wash)

Saute the filling ingredients, reserving the cheese and half & half until the end. You want to draw out most of the moisture of the mushrooms and spinach. Add the cheese and liquid and toss until everything is combined and coated. You should have 2 cups or more of filling. Remove to a bowl to cool.

Mid-week I made this for Sally and I, as per the recipe above.  It really is big enough for 4 with a side veg or salad.   Then on Sunday I made a larger one for Brunch with Sally's Mum.  In that one I used a lot more potato and goat cheese instead of shredded mixed white cheese; and the filling came out tasting sorta like "loaded" hash browns!

Preheat oven to 400F. Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat.  I used a 2 piece pizza pan and heated the bottom piece, but a pizza stone and a peel would be ideal.  The pre-heated under sheet helps the crust cook quicker underneath, so you don't suffer from Soggy Bottom Breakdown!

Thaw and roll out the puff pastry into 2 disks, about 16" and 18" diameter, rolling them onto wax paper or other non-stick paper. 

Put the smaller disk on your peel and mound the cooled filling in the center.  I mean really mound it.  In reality this photo doesn't show nearly enough filling...

Drape the larger pastry over the top to form a dome. Crimp the edges of the two pieces of pastry together to form a seal and roll the edges up.

Using the tip of a sharp knife, score the dome with the traditional curved sun ray pattern and poke a hole at the center to let out steam. Egg wash the whole surface.

Bake the pithivier for 40-45 minutes until GB&D. 

Rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Baked Beet Falafel
What?   Yeah, that's right -- beets (or beetroot if you're Brit).  Grated.  In the falafel mix.

From the book The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley. The book and its recipes are for those of us with Type 2 diabetes that can be controlled by diet and exercise to some degree.

Substituting beets and mushroom for parsley is an interesting attempt to update, and improve the nutrition, of an ancient dish that really needs no updating.

1/2 Red Onion, chopped

1 tsp Cumin seed

pinch of Cayenne

4 Mushrooms, finely chopped

1 can Garbanzos, drained rinsed

8 oz raw Beets, peeled, coarse grated

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Tahini paste

squeeze Lemon juice

Oil for brushing

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Fry the onion in a splash of oil, until soft. Add cumin, cayenne and mushrooms, cook a minute or so more.

Transfer to food processor, add the chickpeas, 2/3 of the grated beets, egg, tahini, lemon juice. Whirrr into a rough paste.

Transfer to a bowl. Fold in remaining grated beets. Salt & pepper to taste.

With wet hands form into 8 balls. Space balls on baking sheet. Brush with EVOO and bake 25 minutes until GB&D.  

Serve with some homemade Tzatziki -- plain yogurt with minced cucumber and julienned mint stirred into it.

Sally couldn't wait -- she was eating the 8th falafel while I was taking this picture!

I over-processed mine and got them a little too smooth in texture; so I made patties rather than balls.  But shape doesn't matter -- taste does.  And these taste basically like any other falafel I'm bought or made.  You can't really say it has beets in it.  But, the next time, I'll bake them hotter/longer so they have a crisper crusty surface the way pan fried or deep fried falafel do.