Short Paste for Pies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup ice water

Method

1. 1

   Sift flour with salt, work butter in lightly with fingertips, add ice water and mix thoroughly, pat into loaf, wrap in wax paper and chill 1 hour or more in refrigerator before using.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France) (1936) by Brown, Cora Lovisa Brackett Mrs., page 160. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

SHORT PASTE FOR PIES (Pate Brisee) 1Y2 cups flour Yi cup butter Yi teaspoon salt Yi cup ice water Sift flour with salt, work butter in lightly with fingertips, add ice water and mix thoroughly, pat into loaf, wrap in wax paper and chill 1 hour or more in refrigerator before using. GRAPE TART (Tarte a la F ontainebleau) Prepare and bake a pie shell, baste with thick sugar syrup and dry in warming oven. Cover a pound of white grapes with 1Y2 cups powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons of sweet white wine. FRENCH 373 Toss a little and allow sugar to melt to a syrup. Fill crust and serve. STRAWBERRY TART (Tarte aux F raises) Pour a cup of thick sugar syrup over a cup of strawberries and allow to stand 2 hours. Prepare and bake a pastry shell; brush it well with sugar syrup and dry in the warming oven; cool; fill with a layer of large ripe strawberries and strain the strawberry syrup over them. WONDERS (Merveilles) 2 cups butter 1 teaspoon soda 2 cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 6 eggs, beaten well 3% cups sifted cake flour Yi cup milk 54 CUP powdered sugar Cream butter and sugar, stir in eggs, add milk, soda and cinnamon, stir thoroughly and work in flour to a smooth dough. Roll out into thin sheets cut into narrow strips, twist into fancy shapes, and drop into deep boiling fat. When a rich mahogany color, remove, drain on brown paper, and dust with powdered sugar. 5 FRITTER BATTER (Pate a Frire) 1 cup boiling water 1 tablespoon brandy 1 teaspoon olive oil 3 tgg yolks, beaten 1 cup flour Y& teaspoon salt 3 egg whites beaten to a stiff froth Pour boiling water into a basin and beat into it the oil, flour, brandy and beaten egg yolks, being careful that no lumps form; add beaten whites last. A little more water may be added if necessary. The batter must be of the proper consistency to coat fruit when immersed in it. 374 THE EUROPEAN COOKBOOK FRITTERS BLENDED (Beignets a la Alliance) 4 apples Peach marmalade 4 tablespoons of sugar 20 peach halves Yi cup brandy Powdered sugar Core, peel, cut apples crosswise into 5 slices and let steep Y2 hour in sugar and brandy. Drain and spread on a cloth. Run a teaspoon of marmalade around center of each slice of apple, lay a peach-half over, press together and dip into fritter batter. Fry crisp and light brown. Powder with sugar, glaze quickly in hot oven and serve. FLOWER OF ACACIA FRITTERS (Beignets d' Acacia) 2 egg whites 4 tablespoons brandy l/i cup powdered sugar 2 cups acacia blossoms Beat egg whites with sugar and brandy; select tender fresh acacia flowers (elderberry blossoms are equally good) and put into a bowl with the beaten mixture. Cover and let flowers steep Y2 hour. Dip them by spoonfuls into fritter batter and fry to a golden brown. The batter must be thick enough to coat flowers with 1 immersion. Drain on brown paper and sprinkle with powdered sugar. SOUFFLE FRITTERS (Pets de Nonne) 1 cup flour 1 tablespoon sugar 54 teaspoon salt 4 or 5 eggs 1 coffeespoon orange flower-water 1 pint water 3 tablespoons butter Put water, salt and butter in saucepan over fire and bring to a boil; immediately drop in flour and stir briskly until dough FRENCH 375 forms a ball in pan. Remove from fire, stir in eggs i at a time, and beat 2 minutes between each addition. Add sugar and flower-water last. Drop by spoonfuls into hot deep fat. Cakes should brown on one side, and rise to top of fat; turn, and brown on other side; remove, and drain on brown paper. Fat must not be too hot or cakes will brown before they puff out; and if not hot enough, they will absorb the fat. Test by dropping in a bread cube. If it browns in 60 seconds, the fat is of the right temperature. This recipe was originated at Baumes-les-Dames Abbey over two centuries ago and some version of it is found today in nearly every city of the world. FRENCH PANCAKES ( Crepes) il/i cups sifted flour 2% tablespoons powdered sugar 3 eggs 1 cup milk Sift flour into mixing bowl. Break eggs in center, add sugar and mix well with wooden spoon. Add milk slowly and beat 4 or 5 minutes to a smooth batter. Butter a griddle or frying pan, heat, and pour in about % cup of batter, cook 2 minutes on each side, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar and serve hot. This quantity makes about 12 pancakes. Pancakes may be spread with currant jelly, rolled, powdered with sugar, and glazed under broiler. French pancakes with apple, apricot, peach, plum, pineapple, strawberry or raspberry ielly are prepared the same. EVERYDAY PANCAKES (Crepes de Menage) 4 eggs i/4 cups flour, sifted 3 times !/4 teaspoon salt

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.