Serving size: Serves 4
Cuisine type: French
Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks
Favourite flavours: Cakes/baking, Easy recipes
Convenience recipes: four or less

These traditionally sweet "cakes" are named after a town in France. Here, we've used savoury ingredients to make scrumptious little pies.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4
Prep time 25 mins
Cooking time 45 mins

Equipment Medium saucepan; 2 baking trays; baking paper; large frying pan; wooden spoon; colander; 15cm & 12cm round cutters (or bowls to cut around); small knife; whisk; pastry brush

Salt
2 tbsp butter
1 leek, sliced finely
300g mushrooms, sliced
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup double cream
Ground white pepper to taste
400g pontiac potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices
4 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, whisked lightly
Green salad, to serve

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Bring pan of salted water to boil. Line trays with baking paper.

Melt butter in frying pan over medium to high heat. Add leek, mushrooms, thyme and garlic. Cook for 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Stir through cream, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 mins. Let cool for 10 mins, then remove thyme sprigs.

Meanwhile, while mushroom mix is cooking, place potato slices in boiling water and cook for 6 to 8 mins, until just tender. Drain. Let cool while cutting pastry rounds.

Cut 4 x 15cm discs and 4 x 12cm discs from puff pastry. Place 2 smaller discs on each lined baking tray and lay potato slices evenly on pastry bottoms, leaving a 1.5cm border around edge. Brush pastry border with egg, then divide mushroom mix evenly among 4 pithiviers. Top with larger pastry discs; press edges of each pithivier firmly together and brush with egg.

Bake for 25 to 30 mins, until pastry is puffed and golden, swapping trays around on racks after 15 mins. Serve with salad.