Comté Cheese, Onion, Potato and Chorizo Pithivier

Dec 19

This is an absolute gem of a recipe using Comté cheese. The cheese itself has an amazing fruity, nutty taste with that perfect balance of salty and sweet. Comté originates from the Jura Massif region in France using the milk from only two varieties of cows, the Montbéliarde and the French Simmental. All of the flavour comes from the milk those beautiful cows produce, with just a bit of salt to help the rind develop. It’s then aged for a minimum of 4 months, with the longer you age the cheese, the richer and deeper the flavour. I used a 15 month aged Comté for the recipe and the flavour really shines through!

Ingredients

• 600g potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm slices
• 2 onions, very thinly sliced
• 200g chorizo sliced into 5mm rounds
• 215g Comté, grated
• A handful of thyme
• 2 blocks of puff pastry, 500g each
• 1 egg
• Chicken stock

Method

1. Fill a large pan with chicken stock and pinch of salt and bring to the boil, add your potato slices and cook for 3-4 minutes until they have started to soften slightly. Drain and allow to cool. You can keep the chicken stock for another day.
2. In a large frying pan, fry your chorizo on a low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the oils are released. Remove the chorizo from the pan, making sure to keep as much oil in the pan as possible. Add your onions and cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes until golden. Add in some thyme for the last few minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
3. Roll out your pastry on a floured surface, we want two 30cm circles about 3mm thick. I used a large plate to cut a template. Roll out one of your circles a little more, this will be your top piece.
4. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees fan.
5. Lay your bottom piece of pastry on greaseproof paper on your baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork. It’s time to layer. Make sure you leave a 2cm gap round the edge of your circle. Start with single layers of potato, then cheese, the chorizo/onion, then cheese and repeat until you run out.
6. Beat your egg in a bowl to create an egg wash. Brush this round the 2cm gap you have left. Place over the other piece of pastry to form your lid, it might need a little stretching, press down with your thumb to form a strong seal. Once this is complete you can use the side of a knife to create little imprints in the edge.
7. Make a very small hole in the top of the pastry. You can run a knife very gently down the sides to create a pattern, be careful not to go through.
8. Egg wash the entire of the pastry.
9. Cook for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Slice and enjoy!
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Posted in Recipe