Cheese and onion pie - King's Landing GoT countdown

Moon Boy mounted his stilts and strode around the tables in pursuit of Lord Tyrell's ludicrously fat fool Butterbumps, and the lord and ladies sampled roast herons and cheese-and-onion pies. - A Storm Of Swords

Hello little dove's,

Natalie Dormer

Kit Harrington at the premiere in London

Gwendoline Christie

This week was also the premiere of season 5 and for the first time it took place in London! Sky Atlantic are doing a short programme about the premiere this Monday night, which I am very excited to watch! On Tuesday night they will also be airing a 'Story so far' show. I think it could be interesting and I am hoping they will talk about some aspects of season 5.

The date is getting closer and closer and so I thought it may be a good idea to visit the Capitol.
This week I baked a cheese and onion pie from King's Landing. I actually stuck to the medieval version this time and it went very well. I served this dish with thyme and garlic roasted potatoes and a rocket and tomato salad. The recipe is as follows:
Cheese and onion pie - serves 6-8 people Time: 1 hr 35 minutes Skill Level: medium

For the Poudre Douce (sweet powder)

• 4 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp grains of paradise (I didn't use these as they aren't available in normal supermarkets)
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of galangal 
• 1 cup sugar 

For the pastry:

• Small pinch of saffron 
• 1/4 cup water + 2tbsp
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 egg yolk

For the filling:

• 4 medium white onions
• 1 sprig of thyme, basil, and sage 
• 1/4 cup currants
• 1 cup grated creamy cheese (I used Gouda)
• 8 eggs
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron
• 1 tsp Poudre Douce

(Fresh herbs are expensive so I bought basil and sage and used dried thyme as I think it is the only dried herb that holds a lot of flavor)
Method-

1. For the pastry soak the saffron in the water and then either rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs and slowly add the beaten egg yolk and the water until the dough comes together. Or use a food processor to combine the butter and flour, slowly adding the wet ingredients on a low speed. Chill in clingfilm until needed.
2. For the poudre douce, combine all ingredients and store in an airtight jar.
3. Parboil the onions and herbs for 5 minutes and drain them in a colander. Once drained thoroughly, put the onions in a very large bowl and chop the herbs finely and add them back together.
4. Combine the currants, cheese, eggs, butter, saffron, and poudre douce in the onion bowl and whisk thoroughly with a balloon whisk. Season to taste.
5. Roll out the pastry and press into a shallow tart tin. Pour the egg mix into the case and bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Overall whilst the flavours of this dish were very tasty I found the texture very strange. Whilst quiche's usually have ingredients like sour cream, or milk, or cream to hold the mix together I found this was almost like an omelette in a pastry case. And the pastry while flaky, was not as crisp as I had hoped, It was a good 6/10 I'd say.

On another note, Sky Atlantic are airing GoT seasons 1-4 every weekend, this started on Friday, so if you feel the urge to watch re-runs before it returns, now you can!

 (sorry for the rubbish quality pictures this time, my phone is currently very broken so I had to use my little brother's)