Roxanne's like a good friend - reliable and always a little astonishing. She's entered our Annual Recipe Content on a couple of previous occasions, adding an extra measure of creativity to the entries. In 2009 her Szechuan Shiitake Spread was a judge's favorite, and in 2014 her Winter Wilted Shiitake Salad was a solid contender for the First Prize. This year's entry, Sesame Shiitake Pie, was deemed lovely to look at and even more delightful to the palate, thanks to its rich pastry crust and indulgent filling, which caused the judging area to be filled with enthusiastic calls for "another serving, please."
We were glad to welcome Roxanne Chan
back to our recipe contest.
What keeps Roxanne creating new recipes year after year? She responds by saying:
I enjoy developing healthy dishes from the produce I grow and try to give a creative twist to my recipes, in other words thinking outside the box. I recently achieved my goal of 1,000 award winning recipes after 35 years of my recipe contesting hobby.
Yes, you read that correctly! 1,000 award winning recipes. Oh, my gosh!
Sesame Shiitake Pie
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
8 tablespoons chilled salted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon light unsweetened coconut milk, separated
1 pound chopped fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon 5-spice powder
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup snipped cilantro
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 egg
- Stir the flour, baking powder and sesame seeds in a bowl, then work in the butter with fingers to make pea size pieces.
- Add the 2/3 cup milk and stir till dough comes together. Divide in half. Roll out 1/2 on a lightly flour surface till large enough to line a 10 inch pie plate.
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, cook the mushrooms, bell pepper, water chestnuts, garlic and 5-spice powder in the oil for 10-12 minutes or till the mushrooms are tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients except the egg and 1 tablespoon milk. Mix well.
- Spoon into the dough crust. Roll out the rest of the dough and top the pie. Trim the top and bottom crusts back to the pie plate rim and seal.
- Beat the egg and the remaining 1 tablespoon milk; brush mixture over the top of the crust. Bake at 400 degrees 25 minutes or till golden. Serve warm. Serves 8