Are you a fan of New Zealand cooking and cuisine? If yes, today I’m going to be talking you through how to make New Zealand-style bacon and egg pie, using ordinary ingredients and equipment. Introduced by Scottish and Irish settlers who came into the country some 150 years ago, this delicacy is absolutely yummy and very popular as a breakfast, and light lunch or dinner option. It’s also synonymous with picnic goers. If you like, you can take it with a beverage such as wine, coffee, tea, milk, or fruit juice. I prefer milk, though, because of the awesome nutritional benefits that come with the beverage. Having said that, here is how to make the bacon and egg pie.
New Zealand-Style Bacon and Egg Pie Recipe
This recipe yields six servings of New Zealand-style bacon and egg pie. At this point, you may wonder how much time does it take to make this mouthwatering delicacy? Well, this takes just one and a half hours to cook. This is broken down as follows:
i. Prep time: 30 minutes.
ii. Cook time: 1 hour.
iii. Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
What You Will Need
i. A medium-size skillet.
ii. A source of heat plus oven.
iii. A large bowl.
iv. A kitchen knife.
v. A medium-size pie pan.
vi. A plate.
vi. A fork.
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry:
i. 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour. 2 tbsp. extra.
ii. 2 tbsp. butter.
iii. 2 tbsp. cold water.
iv. 2 tbsp. lard(white fat used in cooking that is obtained from pigs).
v. 8 eggs, or as needed.
vi. 1 tbsp milk, or as desired.
vii. 6 slices rindless Irish bacon.
viii. Salt and pepper as needed.
Other ingredients:
i. 1 onion, diced.
ii. 1 tsp. vegetable oil.
iii. 1 cup frozen carrots and peas.
iv. Salt to taste.
N/B: Some of the ingredients such as vegetable oil, milk, all-purpose flour, salt, and pepper you already have in the kitchen. Plus, if you have a meal delivery subscription, you can use some ingredients that came with your meal kit for this recipe. Speaking of which, have you ever heard about Sun Basket and Hello Fresh? If never, here’s an excellent post that compares and contrasts the two brands. In a nutshell, though, SB and HF are ranked as some of the top ten best brands for meal kits globally.
Directions
Step 1:
i. Put oil in the skillet and heat over medium heat until hot enough.
ii. Then, add onion and cook while stirring for about 1 minute.
iii. Next, stir in the carrots and peas and cook while stirring for about 2 minutes.
iv. Thereafter, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir well before removing from heat.
Step 2:
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160 degrees C(320 degrees F).
Step 3:
i. Now, sift all your all-purpose flour and salt into the large bowl.
ii. Using your fingers, rub in lard and butter to create a mixture that looks like coarse crumbs.
Step 4:
i. Mix in egg yolk and cold water until pastry dough comes together.
ii. Turning onto a floured surface, roll out the dough into two 7-inch circles.
Step 5:
i. Next, line a pie plate with 1 dough circle.
ii. Into the pie pan, break open 4 eggs making sure not to break yolks.
iii. Now, season the eggs with salt and pepper.
Step 6:
i. Over the eggs, lay 3 bacon strips before adding a layer of cooked peas as well as carrots.
ii. Over the peas and carrot layers, lay the remaining 3 bacon strips.
iii. Now, break open the remaining eggs and pour(gently) on top of the bacon. Tip: Remember to break some yolks for a marbling effect without scrambling.
iv. Again, season with salt and pepper.
Step 7:
i. The remaining pastry dough circle should top the pie securely. Tip: To fix it securely, just press the tines of the fork all around the edge.
ii. Now, brush over the surface of the pie with milk.
Step 8:
i. In the preheated oven, bake the pie for about 1 hour.
ii. Finally, remove your pie from the oven and let cool off a little bit before enjoying it warm. Tip: Feel free to take your delicacy with any beverage of your choice. New Zealand-style bacon with egg pie goes well with all types of soft beverages e.g coffee, tea, milk, and fruit juice.
Nutritional Value Per Serving
This delicacy is a great source of sodium and potassium. Plus, it’s packed with several other essential nutrients. These are highlighted as follows:
i. Calories: 352 Kcal.
ii. Carbohydrate: 25.9g.
iii. Total fat:28.3 g.
iv. Protein: 15.7 g.
v. Dietary fiber: 1.2 g.
vi.Sodium: 820.8mg.
vii. Calcium: 54 mg.
viii. Niacin equivalents: 6mg.
ix. Iron: 2.9 mg.
x. Vitamin C: 1.4 mg.
xi. Vitamin B6: 0.2 mg.
xii. Folate: 94. 9 mcg.
xiii. Vitamin A: 491. 9 IU(International Unit).
xiv. Cholesterol: 306.7mg.
xv. Magnesium: 20.4 mg.
xvi. Potasium: 210.6 mg.
xvii. Thiamin: 0.4 mg.
Note: As you can see, this bacon and egg pie can pump significant amounts of cholesterol into your body. As such, be sure to find ways of reducing cholesterol such as doing exercise, if you consume it too often.
Final Thoughts
Succulent, rich in flavor, and finger-licking good, New Zealand-style bacon and egg pie is one variety of a pie that is very popular not only in New Zealand but also in other parts of the world e.g North America and Western Europe. Not only is this delicacy impressive to our taste buds, but it’s also packed with an overwhelming range of essential nutrients including carbs, protein, dietary fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals. If you want to make it, you only need about one and a half hours for that. Plus, the ingredients are readily available on the market with some probably already present in your kitchen. With nothing more to add, good luck with this easy-to-cook recipe.
