Smoked Gouda Butternut Squash Pie

5 from 1 ratings

Servings

servings

Ingredients

1/2 recipe magpie dough for flaky piecrust, chilled overnight (see notes)
2 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into quarter-inch-thick slices
1 medium granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced eighth-inch thick
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock or water
2 cup grated smoked gouda cheese
4 ounce fresh baby spinach
parmesan walnut breadcrumb, to taste (see recipe below)
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoon chopped walnuts (optional)
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Lightly flour a smooth work surface and a rolling pin.
Take a chilled disk of dough out of the fridge. Give it a couple of firm squeezes just to say hello, then unwrap it and set it on the floured work surface.
Set the pin crosswise on the dough and press down firmly, making a nice deep channel across the full width of the disk. Turn the disk 180 degrees and repeat, making a second indentation, forming a plus sign.
Use your rolling pin to press down each of the wedges, turning the dough 45 degrees each time. This will give you the beginnings of a thick circle.
Now, rolling from the center outward and rotating the dough a quarter turn to maintain a circular shape, roll the dough out to a 13-inch circle with an even thickness of ¼ inch.
Set your 9-inch pie pan alongside the circle of dough. Brush off any loose flour, carefully fold the dough circle in half, transfer it to the pan, and unfold.
At this point the dough will be lying across rather than fitted into the pan. Now, without stretching the dough, set the dough down into the pan so that it is flush up against the sides and bottom. The best way to do this is to gingerly lift the dough and gently shift it around so that it settles into the pan bit by bit. Use a very light touch to help cozy it in.
To flute the edge, fold the overhang under to form a 1-inch wall that rests on the lip of the pan with the seam slightly below the pan’s top edge. Go around the edge of the pan and use a very light touch to firm up the wall to an even thickness from the bottom to the top and all the way around. Flute the edge of the crust at about 1-inch intervals, pressing from the inside with the knuckle of your index finger while supporting on the outside with the thumb and index finger of your opposite hand. Don’t pinch the dough, you want the flute to look like a thick rope.
Transfer the crust to the refrigerator to chill while you make your filling or to the freezer to prepare it for prebaking (see the next page). Alternatively, at this point the crust can be covered tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or double-wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months (defrost overnight in the refrigerator before filling and baking or prebaking, or at room temperature for 30 minutes).
To prebake the shell, chill the panned, fluted piecrust in the freezer until firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with a rack in the center. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut an additional 13 x 13-inch square of parchment.
Set the pan on the lined baking sheet. Set the square of parchment in the pie shell and gently smooth it into place, pleating as needed to fit it up against the bottom and sides of the shell. The edges of the paper will project beyond the rim of the pan; just leave them standing straight up.
Fill the shell to the top with dried beans. Gently stir the beans around with your fingers to ensure that there are no air pockets (especially down in the corners where the sides and bottom of the pan meet). Top up with more beans as needed to come level with the top of the fluted edge of the piecrust.
Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the shell for 25 minutes.
Set out a wire rack and, alongside it, a mixing bowl. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and set it on the rack; bring together the points of the parchment (which won’t be hot to the touch), and carefully lift out the beans and transfer them to the bowl.
Slide the baking sheet back into the oven and bake the crust another 7 minutes (or until pale golden) for prebaked, or 10 minutes (until golden brown) for fully prebaked, depending on your recipe’s requirements. Cool on a wire rack.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
To make the filling, combine the butternut squash and apples in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper, tossing to mix.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic, rosemary, and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the flour and continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Add the stock and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk in ½ cup of the Gouda cheese until melted. Continue whisking in the Gouda ½ cup at a time, melting before each addition. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the cheese sauce over the squash mixture and stir to coat completely.
To assemble the pie, set the par baked pie shell on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread half the squash mixture evenly across the bottom of the pie shell. Top with the spinach, followed by the remaining squash mixture. Smooth the top and evenly layer on the parmesan walnut breadcrumb.
Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake the pie 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the squash is tender (the tip of a knife inserted meets no resistance).
Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, walnuts, and melted butter in a medium bowl, stirring to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.