Poor Man’s Braai Pie

So this effort stems from a love for delicious cheese, onion and tomato braai sandwiches. There is also an element of wanting to add ingredients to the sandwich and also not wanting to deal with multiple sandwiches at once. So, here you have the preliminary recipe which has been developed and tested on no less than a mere 3 occasions, each better than the previous though which bodes well for the future. Note that this is made in a “toe-klap rooster” (Afrikaans – loosely translated means slap-closed grid) which is a hand held braai grid that is hinged and closes together for ease of use when turning the food inside. See poor pic attached.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 – 8):

2 Rolls Puff Pastry

2 Tomatoes

1 Large Onion

1 batch of grated cheddar cheese (What you can hold in your hands when you cup them together and blow to make the sound a dove makes)

Salt and Crushed Black Pepper to taste

1 Tin Chakalaka mix with corn

1 Small Roll Chilli Wors (Or your fav traditional Boerewors)

Add chopped chilli if you like

1 Egg

PREP:

Thaw the pastry; Cut the tomato and onion in half then slice, I do this so the half-rounds pack better in the square shape pie; Braai the wors. I prick some holes in it while cooking so some of the juice runs out. This is sacrilege as a rule but it is going in a pie and too much juice won’t work. I admit that I intentionally turn the wors in a clumsy way so the traditionalists have their say about me ruining the wors, little do they know; Make egg wash and set aside. If you forget a fork then use your fingers. Chances are, if you forgot the fork then you forgot the basting brush so fingers will work again.

METHOD:

This one comes with 2 options, one makes more sense and the other makes the process look more ‘cool’. The first option is to precook the pastry to get it to firm up a bit and then add ingredients and cook till done. I am not such a fan because it means leaving the braai and going back of house in the middle of a process but it does make more sense. Obviously I use the other method and it goes like this…

Unroll one of the puff pastries onto the base of the grid, ensure that the edges are aligned with the shape of the grid. The top pastry has to join to the bottom one so leave an edge when you put the filling in. Sprinkle grated cheese over the base evenly then layer with tomato and onion slices. Next is the chakalaka mix, try get the ingredients out and not the oil. Use only half a tin and spread evenly. Take the cooked wors and peel the skin off, then sprinkle the meat evenly all over the pie. Eat the remaining wors in bite size pieces and share with onlookers. Lastly spread the remaining cheese over the ingredients then seal with the other roll of pastry. Make sure that the edges are joined all around. Spread the egg wash over all surfaces, close the grid and flip then spread egg wash on the other side.

The ingredients will be heavy and will want to push pieces of the pastry through the grid, it’s ok to lose a few to the fire gods so don’t panic. The cheese will hold things together. Be gentle with turning and cooking, do not let the pie burn. I prefer lower heat to start then adding coals for browning towards the end. Once the pastry is cooked the pie is done, now the tricky part: lift the lid slowly and gently, use your fingers or a knife to push the pastry off the grid and through the holes. Next take a board of sorts and flip the pie onto it and gently remove the bottom of grid in the same way. The rectangle pie shape makes for easy portioning into a neat square for all your mates. There you go, a Poor Man’s Braai Pie, enjoy! Wish you were here!