Cheese pie - general principles and methods of preparation
Cheese is a very convenient ingredient in terms of cooking. The variety of types and taste shades allows you to add it to all kinds of snacks, salads and, of course, pastries. And it is not at all surprising that there are many recipes for cheese pies - sweet or savory, open or closed. Some products are baked in the oven, while others, for example, sweet cheesecakes based on ground cookies, need to be frozen.
Cheese pies recipes adapted to Russian cuisine suggest the use of such ingredients as nuts, greens, meat, cream, cottage cheese, mushrooms, berries, various sweet fruits, etc. Any kind of cheese can be adapted into a pie: creamy fresh cheeses are usually used to make a sweet dessert, and salted ones, respectively, go to salted and savory pies.
The basis for such products is cookies, crackers, pita bread or dough, most often puff and shortbread. Gourmets will definitely like the “Lasagna” recipe with cheese or a representative of French cuisine - Laurent pie baked with chicken, mushrooms and cream, as well as other recipes presented in this article.
Cheese Pie - Food Preparation
So that the cheese pie does not give us an unpredictable result, first of all, it is necessary to responsibly approach the purchase of the main ingredient. Today, store shelves are full of a variety of types of cheese. In such a variety, it is easy to get confused. We offer several tips to help you choose and purchase quality products:
- pay attention to the color: it should have only a yellowish tint. Too pale color indicates that the product is either too salted or made from peroxidized milk;
- Soft varieties should spring slightly under mechanical stress and immediately take their original shape;
- Remember, the edges of the cheese should not crack or crumble. Be sure to also appreciate its smell. No matter how trite it sounds, but the cheese should smell like cheese. A product with a sour or "empty" smell is best not to purchase.
If you are planning to bake a cheese pie, first read the recipe from start to finish and go for the products. Try to purchase everything you need in advance, at least a few hours (2-3 hours) before cooking. This is done so that the ingredients lay down a little and get the same temperature. If all you need is at home in the refrigerator, take it out, cover it with a clean towel and let the food cool. Now you can start conjuring, and with recipes we will help you.
Cheese Pie - Best Recipes
Recipe 1: Lasagna with Cheese and Minced Meat
Lasagna is a traditional Italian dish, which is a layer cake with cheese, in which very thin layers of dough alternate with filling. Usually at least two, three types of filling are used, which gives the dish a rich, varied taste. Lasagna has conquered the whole world, it is cooked in luxurious restaurants, it is loved and revered, many legends go about it. And now the best part is that this gorgeous dish can be prepared at home, which we intend to do.
Ingredients:
- about two glasses of flour
- five eggs
- a pinch of salt
Filling:
- three large onions
- 700 gr. minced meat
- "Bechamel" (sauce) 200 gr.
- 200 gr. tomato puree
- any three types of cheese 800 gr.
- olive oil
- greenery
- spices for meat
Cooking method:
1. Beat eggs with a pinch of salt and add flour in portions. Knead the elastic dough and send it to the cold for thirty to forty minutes. After the set time, we cut it into six equal parts. Roll out each thinly (in a circle or rectangle).
2. Next, boil a wide pot of water (a little more than half) and cook each layer separately for 15 minutes. Ready layers are stacked in a flat plate or on a tray.
3. We will do the stuffing. Finely chop the onions, heat the pan, pour in the olive oil and fry the onions until transparent, adding a pinch of spices. Next, spread the minced meat at a speed and fry everything until cooked (grated carrots can be added if desired). Cheese separately and mix all three types.
4. Lubricate the first layer of lasagna with Bechamel, sprinkle with chopped herbs and cover with a layer of tomato puree or tomato sauce. We spread the minced meat with onions in an even layer and sprinkle with cheese mix. We put the next layer and repeat the procedure. Just sprinkle the last leaf with grated cheese.
5. Preheat the oven to 190-200 C, send lasagna into it and bake until the cheese is melted and browned on top. We get out, cool and regale. What a taste! And the aroma! You’ll just lick your fingers!
Recipe 2: Laurent Mushroom Pie with Cheese Fill
This recipe applies to fine French cuisine. An open pie with smoked chicken, mushrooms and cream, egg and cheese filling is a real masterpiece. Bold combinations of ingredients will give an amazing result that all households will certainly appreciate and will definitely ask for supplements.
Ingredients:
- 50 gr. drain. oils
- one egg
- 2-3 tbsp. lies. cold water
- about 200 gr. flour
- a pinch of salt
For filling:
- 300 gr. smoked chicken
- 400 gr. champignons
- 100 gr. onions
- greens, salt
- vegetable oil
To fill:
- 200 gr. fat cream
- 150-200 gr. cheese
- two eggs
Cooking method:
1. Cooking the dough. We take softened butter, mix it with flour not until smooth. Pour in water, add salt and knead. The dough should be embossed. We remove it in the cold for half an hour, wrapping it with a film.
2. Make the filling. Cut the mushrooms into slices, chop the onion finely. We mix mushrooms and onions, overcook in vegetable oil. At the end, add the chicken gutted into pieces. Passing a couple more minutes.
3. Prepare the fill. Beat the eggs, add the grated cheese and a little whipped cream to them. Gently mix with a flexible whisk until smooth.
4. We cover the removable form with parchment paper, grease it with margarine and put the dough on it, leveling it with wet hands. Do not forget to leave the sides. We spread the filling on the dough, sprinkle with spicy herbs on top and fill the pie with cheese dressing.
5. Preheat the oven to 170-180С and bake the dish for forty minutes. That's the whole secret of making Laurent pie. Enjoy it!
Recipe 3: Cheese Cake "Coloring Tale"
The word pie sounds very appetizing. And it is not necessary to use expensive ingredients for its preparation. You can create an amazing, colorful dish from what is almost always at hand. For example, cheese and ham. Let's try experimenting with these products. Only one hour, and the food for the whole family is already on the table.
Ingredients:
- two eggs
- sour cream 2 tbsp. spoons
- two stacks. flour
- 100 gr. butter
- a pinch of salt
For filling:
- one bell pepper yellow
- one bell pepper red
- 200 gr. ham
- three eggs
- a glass of fat cream
- half a glass of milk
- 150-200 gr. cheese
- greenery
- salt
Cooking method:
1. Beat eggs with sour cream. Knead the softened butter with flour with your hands, salt and pour the sour cream and egg mixture. Knead the dough and remove it in the cold for several minutes.
2. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. We cut the ham into cubes, grate the cheese, cut the peeled seeds from the seeds into slices. In a bowl, mix milk, cream and eggs. Beat the mixture with a mixer until the air mass, into which we spread the ham and pepper. Mix.
3. Lubricate the form, distribute the dough on the bottom, leaving the sides. We pour the filling on the dough to the edges of the sides, generously sprinkle the cheese pie. We heat the oven to 180C, send a dish into it and bake for about forty minutes. Next, remove the cake from the mold and call the family to the table.
Recipe 4: Cheesecake
Delicate pie, which includes puff pastry and cream cheese, ideal for breakfast: tasty, hearty and very light. Even the most fastidious little one will be delighted with such a simple to prepare, but such a delicious cheese pie!
Ingredients:
- 500 gr. puff pastry (buy at the store)
- three processed cheese
- four eggs
- greenery
- 2 bow heads
- vegetable oil 30 gr.
Cooking method:
1. We divide the thawed dough into two parts, roll out the first into a layer and put it on a greased form (do not forget about the sides). Next, beat three eggs, grind the cheese using a grater, meat grinder or knife. Shred the greens, fry the chopped onion until transparent.
2. Combine beaten eggs, cheese, herbs and fried onions, mix. Here is our filling. We spread it evenly on the dough layer. We also roll out the second part of the dough and cover the filling on top. We carefully pinch the edges, forming a decorative pattern. Grease the cake on top with the egg and send it to the oven (at 180 C) for forty minutes. The finished cake, so golden, ruddy, is taken out of the oven, allowed to cool and removed from the mold. Yummy on the table!
Cheese pie - tips from experienced chefs
Cheese pies can be sweet, savory, savory or spicy. Their taste directly depends on the type of cheese and auxiliary ingredients - those that are part of the dough and toppings: vanilla, herbs, paprika, pepper and other seasonings. For a more pleasant taste, sesame seeds or crushed nuts can be mixed into the dough.
Baking any cheese products for too long is not worth it, because, on burning, they acquire an unpleasantly bitter taste. It’s best to use a medium-sized cheese cake mold (ideally 21 to 24 cm).
Sweet cheesecake will acquire a more delicate taste and aroma with creamy cheese varieties such as Philadelphia, Rama, Kiri, Mascarpone and Ricotta.
