Ingredients
- • Serves/Makes:6 servings
- • Ingredients
- • Pie Pastry:
- • 2 cups (475 ml) all-purpose flour
- • 1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
- • 2/3 cup (150 ml) chilled unsalted butter
- • 1/2 to 3/4 cup (175 ml) ice water
- • Bechamel Sauce:
- • 2 to 2-1/4 cups (525 ml) milk
- • 1 bay leaf
- • 4 tbsp (60 ml) unsalted butter
- • 1/4 cup (60 ml) all-purpose flour
- • Liquor reserved from oysters
- • Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- • Pinch of cayenne pepper
- • Generous pinch of ground mace
- • Filling:
- • 2 dozen small (yearling) oysters, drained
- • 3 hard-cooked large eggs, peeled and thinly sliced
- • 1 can (14 1/2 oz) white or golden hominy, drained and rinsed
- • Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- • Mace
Instructions
- Pastry:
- Combine flour and salt in large bowl and shave fine slices of butter onto the flour and toss with fork to mix.
- Sprinkle in 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the ice water while tossing with fork until pastry is moist enough to form into a ball. Add more water if necessary.
- Wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Roll out two thirds of the pastry, cut to 12 inch circle and line bottom of 10 inch tart pan (type with removable bottom).
- Roll remaining pastry into 11 inch circle for top of pie and place on baking sheet. Chill crusts for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 deg F.
- Cover bottom crust and top crust with foil and weigh down with baking weights or dried beans (keeps flat).
- Bake both crusts for 8 minutes then remove foil and weights and contine baking for 8-12 additional minutes uncovered, 'til golden brown, then cool.
- Sauce:
- In small suacepan, scald 2 cups (475 ml) of milk with the bay leave over med heat.
- Let steep (off heat) for 5 minutes then discard bay leaf.
- Melt butter in heavy-bottomed pan over med heat being careful not to brown.
- Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the warm milk and continue cooking, whisking constantly until thickened.
- Whisk in the oyster liquor and additional milk if necessary to make a thick but pourable sauce.
- Season with salt, white pepper, cayenne, and mace to taste.
- Remove sauce from heat and add oysters, stirring gently to mix in.
- Cover bottom crust (still in tart pan) with egg slices.
- Sprinkle hominy over the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in the hot oyster sauce spreading evenly to edge of pastry.
- Dust with additional mace.
- Gently set the top crust in place and set the pie on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees (200 C.) F. until pie is hot through, (12 to 15 minutes).
- Be careful not to brown the pastry or over-cook the oysters.
- Remove from oven and remove the sides of tart pan.
- Serve immediately.
- Comments
- This pie is actually named the Sotterley Oyster Pye for the historic Sotterly Mansion in Maryland where lavish banquets served the dish. Oyster pie is wonderful-sounds unusual and is but tastes great. Nice with a fruity white wine. Recipe recreated by William Taylor a Maryland caterer and historian.
