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Savory Pie with Onions and Processed Cheese
Instructions
For the filling, you will need fresh onions, take four large onions or six medium-sized ones depending on availability.
Thinly slice the peeled onions into thin half-rings. Immediately on the cutting board, separate them into individual strips.
The onions need to be properly sautéed first. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan, sauté the onions over low heat until properly transparent and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste at this stage. You do not need to fry the onions to golden brown for this particular filling.
You will also need four processed cheese slices. The cheese should be a creamy plain variety without any added flavour aromas.
Grate the processed cheese on the coarse side of a box grater.
Transfer the cooked onions to a deep mixing bowl ready for the next step.
Immediately, while the onions are still very hot from the pan, add the grated cheese to the bowl with the onions.
Using a wooden or silicone spatula, mix the ingredients together until properly homogeneous. A homogeneous mass will result. At this time, the filling needs to be tasted for salt and pepper, add additional spices if necessary. Set the bowl aside to let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Beat the four eggs in a separate bowl, add salt and pepper to taste.
Beat the eggs simply with a fork, there is no need to whip them into a frothy foam. Finely chop the fresh parsley with a sharp knife. Fresh dill will also work absolutely brilliantly in this filling.
Add the chopped greens to the egg mixture and mix gently together.
Add the seasoned egg mixture to the cooled cheese-and-onion mixture in the larger bowl.
Mix everything together until a properly homogeneous mass is obtained. Since there are raw eggs in the mixture now, it is not advisable to taste it at this stage. Therefore, we recommend doing the seasoning check before combining the cheese with the raw eggs.
Take the prepared shortcrust dough out of the refrigerator. It has cooled well, and now it is very comfortable to work with.
Remove the dough from the package and roll it briefly into a small sausage. Visually divide the dough into three equal parts, but only cut off one. Set one-third of the part aside for now, and continue to work with the remaining two-thirds piece.
Dust the working surface with a little flour and roll the dough into a rectangular sheet with a thickness of three to four millimetres.
You will need any baking dish. A round one with a diameter of twenty-four or twenty-six centimetres works well. Or, as in this example, an oval dish that will also look beautiful. Transfer the rolled-out dough to the dish. Carefully place the dough across the bottom and sides, trying not to stretch it, but the dough should well cover the sides of the dish.
Carefully transfer the entire prepared filling to the lined dish. Evenly distribute the mixture so that it fills all the available space across the base.
Roll out the remaining dough to the same thickness as the first layer for the top crust.
Cover the filling with the prepared dough top, making contact to avoid air pockets. There should be enough dough for the sides as well. Simply press the dough against the sides with your fingers, this way we seal the two layers of dough together.
Remove the excess dough from the sides, the edge should be even, since the dough will sink slightly during the baking step.
By this time, the oven should already be preheated to 170 degrees Celsius on the top-bottom mode setting. Bake the pie for thirty-five to forty-five minutes total. Five minutes before it's done, the top of the pie can be coated with beaten egg for extra shine. You can also skip this step entirely; the pie still turns out beautifully brown and properly homemade-delicious.
The savory pie with the onion filling is now properly ready. If desired, sprinkle it with toasted sesame seeds for extra texture. Serve the pie cold, or slightly warm.
The pie looks absolutely wonderful when cut. In the homogeneous filling mass, you cannot even see the presence of the onion, since it has become beautifully transparent during cooking, and the processed cheese is also not visible separately. We achieved this clean finished texture because we mixed the still-hot onion with the cold cheese.We recommend baking this savory pie with onion and processed cheese; even those guests who categorically dislike plain raw onion will love it. You will definitely be asked to make such a pie again and again at the family table.
Tips
- 1
Mix the still-hot sautéed onion with the cold grated cheese, since the residual heat from the onions partially melts the cheese into a beautifully smooth homogeneous filling that hides the individual ingredients. The brief moment of timing genuinely matters for the most beautifully smooth finished texture in the pie cross-section. Cold cheese added to cold onion would produce visible separate pieces in the finished filling.
- 2
Prepare the shortcrust pastry well in advance and chill thoroughly before rolling, since well-chilled dough rolls beautifully without sticking and produces the most properly crumbly finished crust texture. To pair this beautifully aromatic onion-and-cheese savory pie with another properly classic homemade savoury baked preparation for a complete dinner menu, try our beautifully versatile classic shortcrust pastry for pie and other baking as a thorough technical reference for the dough base alone.
- 3
Cool the cheese-onion mixture completely to room temperature before adding the raw eggs, since hot mixture would cook the eggs into unpleasant scrambled curds rather than incorporating them smoothly into the filling. Patience with the brief cooling step genuinely matters for the most beautifully smooth finished filling texture every single time. Test by touching the bowl carefully before adding the eggs.
- 4
Brush the top crust with beaten egg yolk before baking for the most beautifully glossy golden finished crust appearance, although this finishing step is not strictly necessary for delicious results. For another properly classic homemade Soviet-era savoury pie recipe to add variety to your weekly menu, try our beautifully tender royal curd pie in the oven (Tsarskaya Vatrushka) as a contrasting sweet-pie alternative for properly festive dessert spreads.
FAQ
Can I use a different cheese? +
Yes, mild cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, comté or even a soft cream cheese all work as alternatives to the traditional processed cheese in this savory pie filling. Each cheese brings its own slightly different finished flavour profile and finished texture to the bowl. Use the same total weight as the processed cheese in the recipe and grate or crumble it into similar-sized pieces. Stronger cheeses like aged cheddar or gruyere produce a noticeably more pronounced finished cheese flavour, while milder cheeses give a softer more subtle finished result.
Can I use puff pastry instead of shortcrust? +
Absolutely. Good-quality store-bought puff pastry works absolutely brilliantly as a quick alternative to the homemade shortcrust pastry in this recipe. Use about 500 grams of puff pastry total, divided into two sheets for the base and the top. The finished result with puff pastry is noticeably lighter and flakier than the traditional shortcrust version, which many cooks actually prefer for the savoury filling. Adjust the baking time slightly down to about 30 minutes total since puff pastry browns faster than the heavier shortcrust dough.
How long does this savory pie keep? +
Store the cooled savory pie covered loosely in the refrigerator for up to three days for best results. The flavours actually develop slightly during the first 24 hours as the various filling components properly meld into the harmonious whole. Reheat individual slices briefly in a 150-degree oven for about 10 minutes to restore some of the original crust crispness, or eat at room temperature for a beautifully convenient lunch box option. Avoid the microwave entirely, since steaming makes the previously crispy crust disappointingly soggy.
Can I add other ingredients to the filling? +
Absolutely. Try adding chopped sautéed mushrooms, crispy fried bacon bits, sliced ham, chopped boiled egg, finely chopped fresh spinach, sundried tomatoes, or even a small handful of pitted olives for properly different finished flavour profiles. Each addition brings its own character to the bowl. Avoid adding too many additions at once, since this can produce a muddled finished result that lacks any clear flavour identity. One or two thoughtful additions alongside the core onion-cheese base produce the best balanced finished result.
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