Fall brings out the hipster in me. And what’s more hipster than biking to a bakery that serves Royal Pies? Kale Royal Pies!

So on a perfect, sunny fall day, I pedaled down to Bridgeport for savory pastries.

I had the kale and mushroom pie (vegetarian) and my friend had the beef stew pie.

I, of course, being the enthusiastic eater that I am, was concerned that a kale pie wouldn’t give me enough energy for the return bike ride to my neighborhood, but the cook (baker?) assured me that it was a very hearty pie. He also told me everything that made up this rich, flaky mass of English sustenance.

It was simply a pie crust (they had pie tins specially made in England just for this shop) filled with kale, mushrooms, cream sauce, and lots of Parmesan cheese. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

Pastry:

(for a double crust 3×3 pie tin)

1 ¼ cup flour

1 tsp salt

½ cup cold butter, cubed

¼ cup cold water

1 egg (for egg wash)

In a bowl, mix the salt and flour together with a whisk or fork. Add butter and work with your hands squeezing and mixing until the butter and flour are combined to make what looks like oats and peas.

Make a well in the middle of the mixture. Pour in cold water and mix it all together using a fork until the all the flour is moist. DO NOT OVER MIX. Divide the mix in half and form two loose balls of dough. Press into two discs, cover with plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

While the dough is resting, make the filling.

Mushroom and Kale Filling:

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

2 tb butter, divided

1 tb flour

1 cup cream

½ cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a sauce pan, heat one tablespoon of butter. Add kale. Sauted until the kale is wilted. Add mushrooms. Continue cooking until mushrooms are soft. Set aside.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and add flour to make a blond roux. Reduce heat to low. Slowly add cream. When a sauce has formed and thickened, add cheese and remove from heat. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Add sauce to vegetable mixture and set aside to cool.

Roll out dough and press into the pie pan. Add filling. Top with dough, cut and crimp edges as desired. Place in freezer for fifteen minutes to set the shape of the crust.

Brush with egg wash. Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil. Bake another 25 or until crust is well browned.

Tip: Use a pizza stone to get a crispy bottom. Don’t worry, it won’t burn.

Hipsters are right: Kale and bikes rule.