Ingredients
Yields: 4 servings- 1 recipe pastry dough, flattened into a disc and chilled
- 2 lb Yukon Gold or other yellow potatoes, peeled
- ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup shallots, minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup cream or half & half
- ¾ cup Swiss cheese, freshly grated, optional
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives,
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tsp Water
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F.
Roll out the chilled pastry dough in a circle about 1/16-inch thick. Place in a 9-inch pie pan, bringing the dough up the sides and trimming off. Prick the bottom of the pastry dough at ½-inch intervals with a fork.
Lightly butter the shiny side of a 12-inch square piece of aluminium foil and line the pastry with it, shiny side down. Cover the foil with about 1 ½ cups of dry beans or pastry weights. Bake the pastry shell in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and discard the beans, or remove the weights, and the foil. Bake for a few minutes longer or until the shell turns a light golden brown colour. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with salted water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until just tender. Drain and let cool.
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and add the shallots, salt and pepper. Sweat over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently until soft (add 1 tablespoon of water if the skillet becomes too dry). Remove from the heat and set aside.
Reheat the oven to 375F.
Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl for 1 minute. Add the cream, cheese, thyme, parsley, chives, garlic and cooked shallots and stir well. Adjust the seasonings if necessary. Slice the boiled potatoes into 1/8-inch rounds. Line the bottom half of the pastry shell with the potato slices. Ladle half the cream mixture over the potatoes, and then add another layer of potatoes. Fill with the remaining cream mixture.
Roll out a thin layer of the left over pastry dough in a circle large enough to cover the pie. Whisk the egg yolk and water together and this egg wash over the dough and the rim of the pie shell. Then place the dough on top of the potatoes and cream, egg wash side up, and pinch the dough against the rim of the shell to form a seal (cut off any excess dough with scissors or a knife). Cut out a small hole in the centre of the lid, to allow the steam from the pie to escape.
Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.