Potato Pie

I'm feeling all 'islander' tonight having just gone to see the fun and fabulous Anne and Gilbert show in Charlottetown.  It seemed appropriate to post this wonderful island-based dish. I based this delicious recipe on a potato pie served at the PEI Preserve Company.  It's a wonderful dish with layers of local potatoes, chives, thyme, cheddar cheese and bacon.  Sounds good, right?  Yes, it absolutely is.  I had no desire (in the summertime) to bake something for 2 1/2 hours, so I cook the potatoes in advance to greatly cut back on cooking time.   I also modified a bit of the recipe, but it's very similar to what is served at the PEI Preserve Company. It was a hit with everyone!  You won't regret making this dish, as it is absolutely wonderful! Enjoy!

Potato Pie

Based on a recipe from the PEI Preserve Company

Serves 6-8

Takes ~ 30 minutes prep, 1 hour baking.

Have an oversized, deep-dish pie dish ready for the potato pie.  (I cook the potato slices first, to cut back dramatically on cooking-time)

 

 

Prepare fillings as follows:

Fill a large pot ½ full of cold water.

Thinly slice and peel (if needed), placing in your pot of cold water:

4 pounds potatoes (you can use a couple kinds, if you’d like – I used some that had thin-skin and others with thicker skin that I peeled first)

Put the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  Remove lid and boil ~ 10 minutes, until potato is tender.  Drain potatoes.

 

 

Prepare the following fillings:

2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese (or similar cheddar cheese blend)

¼ cup chopped fresh chives & green onion

1 Tbsp fresh thyme, diced

Salt & Pepper

1 package bacon, big thick-sliced is best

This is the type of big sliced bacon I like. I love that it's not so fatty.  Some fresh chives and green onions, diced, and the fresh thyme, diced.

To assemble the potato pie:

Line an oversized pie pan with:

½ - ¾ package of bacon (375g/1lb package – ideally use the big thick-sliced bacon (made from pork loin) rather than the thin/fatty bacon slices, but either will work just fine – save a slice to cook & crumble for the maple bacon sauce, if desired)

Let the bacon drape a bit over the edge of the dish.

Layer potatoes (I used a spoon to scoop/spread them, since they were hot from boiling), a generous amount of cheddar cheese, chopped chives, all the chopped thyme, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.(Thyme is only on the first layer). 

Remember to use all the chopped thyme on this layer.

Repeat until you have four layers, finishing with cheese, chives and salt and pepper.   

Place remaining slices of bacon over the top, pulling up the bacon ends to fully cover your pie.  The pie should be ~ 4 inches thick in the middle.  

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 375F.  Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes.   Remove from oven. Let stand ~10-15 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with maple bacon sauce (below), if desired. Enjoy!!!

If desired, top with the following Maple Bacon Sauce:

Mix together:

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup sour cream

1 big piece or 2-3 normal slices bacon, cooked and crumbled/diced

2-3 tsp lemon juice, to taste (you may like it best without)

If you slice it when still piping hot, it'll still be delicious, but the layers tend to slide a bit once plated.

Yum! Enjoy!