Recipe: Eel and Chicory Pie

1 In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the shallots and endives which have been wiped, cut in half with their cores removed and finely sliced. Season with salt and pepper, grate nutmeg, incorporate 2 tablespoons of water and cook gently covered for 10 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C) (gas mark 7).

3 In a fairly tall mold, place 2/3 of the puff pastry, bringing the edges up so they protrude slightly from the mold, prick the bottom with a fork and set aside in a cool place.

4 In the saucepan used for the endives, add off the heat the milk, cream, and eggs. stir well and pepper (no salt because of the eel).

5 With a sharp knife, remove the skin from the eel, detach the pieces from the bone and cut into small slices, set aside.

At the bottom of the pie, scatter your slices of eel then add your endive cream, place the rest of your puff pastry on top, dampen the edges to properly seal the 2 parts together, in the center make a chimney (a small hole about 1cm), brush with some egg wash (the yolk beaten with a spoonful of water).

If you wish, make a small decoration with the point of a knife (pithiviers style) then put in the oven at mid-height for 25 minutes (still at gas mark 7)

6 If you see that your pie is browning too much, protect it with aluminum foil