How do you like your Bacon and Egg Pie?

How do you like your Bacon and Egg Pie?

Strictly bacon and egg, pastry on top and bottom, with vegetables or a hint of cheese – whichever way you like it, in 2016 the bacon and egg pie remains a favourite New Zealand dish.

With endless variations on the kiwi classic, bacon and egg pie lovers around the country are invited to share their recipe or tips this month, to celebrate World Egg Day on Friday 14 October.

Since making an appearance in the first deluxe edition of the Edmonds “Sure to Rise Cookery Book in 1955, the bacon and egg pie recipe has consistently featured the core ingredients - flaky pastry, bacon, eggs, onion, salt and pepper. In 1993, the Edmonds recipe changed to include mixed vegetables and chutney, and now in the newly released 2017 version of the cookbook those additions are considered optional variations.

Many kiwis have a firm view on how a bacon and egg pie should be cooked and will not be persuaded otherwise. Today contemporary versions of the pie reflect the diversity in the way New Zealanders like to eat. Mini pies made in muffin tins without pastry are meal staples for the low-carb brigade; huge pies made in roasting dishes find favour with flatties and many add in whatever leftovers the fridge offers.

Food historian Helen Leach says bacon and egg pie has been a popular pie for picnics in New Zealand for more than a century.

“The first published recipe for bacon and egg pie I could find in my collection of New Zealand cookbooks featured in a fundraising cook book – the 1928 version of The Wanganui Cookery Book. Apart from the use of short pastry, the ingredients and method of assembly were almost the same as in the first Edmonds' version - except Edmonds added grated onion.”

The bacon and egg pie recipe has a much longer history beyond New Zealand. Leach has found an Egg and Bacon Pie recipe in an English cookbook first published the year that Captain Cook reached New Zealand – 1769.

"This 18th century book was written by Elizabeth Raffald, and called The Experienced English Housekeeper. It had reached its ninth edition by 1784 and remained in print until 1834. The book's popularity would have helped to spread the recipe widely."

Leach’s research suggests that while the title of the English recipe may have flipped en route to the Southern Hemisphere, the ingredients and method of cooking have changed little in the centuries since.

“Interestingly, Elizabeth Raffald’s recipe was called "Egg and Bacon Pie to eat cold.* Somewhere along the way the title of the recipe has changed to ‘bacon and egg’ pie. The original Edmonds recipe is quite similar to Elizabeth’s recipe though, with the addition of diced onion, an enclosed pastry case and the absence of a pint of cream!”

Tauranga based baker Patrick Lam from Gold Star Bakery in Tauranga took out this year’s 2016 Bakels Supreme Pie Award with his take on the bacon and egg pie. Pat says the key to his success is using good pastry and the right balance of bacon to egg.

Pat also says you can’t beat a bacon and egg pie for breakfast.

“Our bacon and egg pies fly out the door in the mornings, mostly by tradies and workers who are after a tasty and filling breakfast on the run, or something for smoko a bit later in the morning. I don’t think they last that long though!” he says.

In celebration of World Egg Day [Friday 14 October], kiwis are being encouraged to share their take on the classic kiwi dish with their fellow pie lovers in the My Pie competition. Personal touches, rituals and speciality recipes are welcomed.

For the opportunity to win one of two ‘My Pie’ prize kits each containing a year’s supply of eggs, a pie dish, tea towels and cooking utensils entrants just need to share their take on the bacon and egg pie .Send in a few words and if desired a picture (not compulsory) to www.eggs.org.nz. Entries close 28 October 2016 and winners will be chosen by a random draw. Full competition details and a free e-recipe book with different versions of the bacon and egg pie are available at www.eggs.org.

ENDS

© Scoop Media