For our August 1 meal, we decided we had to go with something of Swiss Influence, so we dug into our bag of tricks and decided to make Cholera! It’s not what you think though…nobody experienced a classic calamity from the old computer game, “Oregon Trail.” Instead, we broke out our spring form pan and made a really fun covered Savory Pie. The last time we made this, we went with a Root Vegetable Cholera and filled it with turnips, parsnips, potatoes, and onions. We also cut a Swiss Cross out of that excess dough and affixed it to the top of the pie as a subtle touch.
For this version, we filled our pie with beets, onions, raclette, and seasonings. Knowing that we had red ingredients as our filling, we chose to cut a Swiss Cross out of the dough and leave the pie quasi-open faced for visual effect. This one turned out really well.
Time: 120 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Short Crust Pastry or Pie Dough. If Making Your Own you’ll need 1.5 cups of flour. If not, you’ll need two pie crusts.
- 3-4 Medium Beets
- Onion
- Good Alpine Melting Cheese. We used Raclette, but Appenzeller or Gruyere would work really well too.
- Black Pepper
- Paprika
- Ground Rosemary
- Salt
- Egg
Method:
- Rinse and boil your beets until they are soft enough to pierce with a fork. Then, remove from your water, and allow to cool.
- If you’re making your pastry crust from scratch, start it as your beets boil, and set it aside to hydrate. Note, the more butter you use, the flakier your crust will be in the end. If not, defrost your pie doughs.
- When your beets have cooled, cut the tops and bottoms off each, and use your thumbs to peel and discard the skin.
- Slice your beets thinly, and set aside. Also, slice your onions and cheese.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll out half of your pie dough, and arrange it as the base layer in your baking vessel. (If using a springform pan, arrange your bottom dough first, and then affix the sides, and press together to make a good seal).
- Arrange a layer of beet slices (use about half your beets) in the bottom of your crust, and then add your onion slices and cheese. Sprinkle your seasonings atop the cheese.
- Make another beet layer using the rest of your beets.
- Roll out your top pie crust, and cut out any designs you like. Then, place it on top of your pie, and crimp the edges together to create a seal.
- Beat an egg, and brush it atop your crust. If you didn’t cut out a design, use a fork to poke holes in the top of your crust for steam to escape during baking.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes until your crust turns flaky and golden brown!
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
