What a start to the year, labour unrest, fires, high stress, and then a relaxed evening and my first introduction the a “braai pie” and “bakkie sakkie”…. at least I can say it ended on a high and it seems that peace have returned to our beautiful Elgin Valley….

We were invited for a Saturday evening braai, a supposedly “quick one” as Matthew had to do his “farm watch” duty, a late and nearly midnight shift, very abnormal for our peaceful little town.

Mandy whipped out Matthew’s Christmas Gift, a lovely “braai” cookbook and made this lovely “braai pie” …… I loved it, something new ….

For the “Braai Pie” you will need:
2 x 500g rolls puff pastry 2 – 3 baby marrows
1 large onion chopped 1/2 cup cubed feta
1 yellow pepper sliced 1/2 cup grated matured white cheddar cheese
250g sliced brown mushrooms 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
4 chicken breast fillets cubed olive oil
OR ANY FILLING OF YOUR CHOICE salt and pepper

EARLIER IN THE DAY…
Fry the onions, mushrooms and sliced yellow pepper in a bit of olive oil until soft. Fry the cubed chicken and season well. Leave to cool and refrigerate – the pastry needs cold ingredients.
Defrost the pastry in your fridge.

ONE HOUR BEFORE SERVING…
On a tray that fits into your fridge, open the first roll of puff pastry, brush with a bit of olive oil and flip it over onto the plastic sheet on the tray. Scatter the cooked chicken, onion, mushrooms and yellow pepper. Make sure you drain all the liquid before adding the filling on the pastry. Add the cheese and top with thin slices of baby marrow, ( Mandy used a potato feeler to slice the marrows). Season with salt and pepper…

Cover with the second sheet of puff pastry, close the sides by pressing lightly with a fork all around the edges. Brush with olive oil and refrigerate. It is important to refrigerate the “braai pie” for at least 45 minutes otherwise the pastry will be too soft for the braai grid.

FOR THE BRAAI…
Transfer the “braai pie” from the tray and plastic onto the braai grid. Braai for +/- 10 minutes over a medium heat, make sure the pastry don’t burn.

Carefully close the grid, don’t press it tightly, and turn over. The pie might be slightly stuck to the “now top side” of the grid, carefully loosen it, and braai for another 10 minutes on a low heat until golden brown..

Serve immediately

OK, us girls, we don’t normally do this, but we had to get rid of the week’s stress …..

And then it was time for Caroline to introduce me to the HERO OF THE WEEK, “die bakkie sakkie”….. we’ve had several fires in the Valley this week and “DIE BAKKIE SAKKIE” definately helped the farmers getting to the “hot spots” quickly and on time…

A STRESSFUL WEEK…… BUT I CAN REPORT THAT CALM HAS RETURNED TO OUR VALLEY…