Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (2024)

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (1)

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices!

Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (2)

Christmas Decorations and Cards

Today, the 5th January, is Twelfth Night, not to be confused with Epiphany, which is tomorrow on the 6th January. Traditionally, it’s the day that all thedecorationsand cards come down, lest you bring bad luck into your home for the new year, assuperstitiondictates, and I amnotone to flout superstitionif and when bad luck ismentioned. So, in my house, all of thedecorations, the tree and the cards are taken down and packed away for another year……..or in the case ofthe “real” tree, it is planted back into the garden. However sad it may be to pack away the sparkle and tinsel, it’s always been a day of merriment and fun, where tricks and charades are played and the last vestiges of all the rich festive food are enjoyed; and indeed we always indulge in any cake, chocolates or other treats that are still around, in an attempt the soften the “taking down the decorations” blow……

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (3)

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe

…….I always serve a special Twelfth Night supper, and use the last of the Christmas crackers too. Past years have seen me cooking Hunting Beef, a highly spiced beef dish that is great cold as well as hot. Last year I made amagnificentKing Cake: Rosca de Reyes, studded with nuts and jewelled candied fruits.

King Cake: Rosca de Reyes (

It’s also time to enjoy a Galette des Rois, if we are in France,and if you venture into any major supermarket or small patisserie, you will be met with a huge array of these delectable pastries, complete with a paper or cardboard crown too. I have made one of these flaky pastry delights at home in the past, but really there seems little point when there are so many on offer, and in different flavours too……frangipane, apple, chocolate and lemon.

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (6)

Galette des Rois Recipe: Courtesy Bonjour Paris

This year I have decided that our Twelfth Night pastry will be savoury and spicy – so, I have made a lovelyCurried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust, using some leftover brisket and vegetables I cooked for our New Year’s Day dinner and that I popped into the freezer. (I also make a version of this pie with leftover turkey too)I added some apricots and a dollop of mango chutney for a fruity burst of flavour and after all of the rich food I have been enjoying lately, I wanted some spices to cut through our jaded palates, so I curried the pie filling, and then added a crispy sea salt glaze crust. The pie was enjoyed with saffron and honey basted roast parsnips, some fluffy mashed potatoes and some crunchy curly kale for the green element.

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (7)

Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust

It seems only appropriate that a pie be served this Twelfth Night, and although we may not be indulging in any Shakespearean frolics, such asViola dressing as a man, and the servant Malvolio imagining that he can become a nobleman, as in the play Twelfth Night, we will be enjoying the last bottles of our festive fizz, chocolates as well as a slice or two of Christmas cake.I hope all of my readers have a “jolly old time” this Twelfth Night and that the New Year will be kind to all of you, see you tomorrow for Epiphany! Karen

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (8)

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe

PS: Do try this recipe if you have asurfeitof leftovers too – beef or turkey workexceptionallywell……………

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (9)

About Twelfth Night:

Twelfth Night is the festival marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas. In mediaeval and Tudor England, the Twelfth Night marked the end of a winter festival that started on All Hallows Eve — now more commonly known as Halloween. The Lord of Misrule symbolises the world turning upside down. On this day the King and all those who were high would become the peasants and vice versa. At the beginning of the Twelfth Night festival, a cake that contained a bean was eaten, and the person who found the bean would rule the feast. Midnight signalled the end of his rule and the world would return to normal. The common theme was that the normal order of things was reversed. This Lord of Misrule tradition dates back to pre-Christian European festivals such as the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia.

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (10)

Curried Beef and Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust

Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust

Print recipe

Serves 6 to 8 slices
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 40 minutes
Total time 55 minutes
Allergy Egg, Milk, Wheat
Meal type Lunch, Main Dish, Snack
Misc Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving
By author Karen S Burns-Booth

A truly delectable spicy pie that is made with meat and vegetable leftovers with a little bit of exotic fruit and spices added. Use ready-made and ready-rolled pastry for ease, or your own butter puff pastry, as I did with the pie in the photos. Adjust the pie filling ingredients and spices to taste. This pie is great when leftover beef or turkey is used.

Ingredients

  • 2 x 320g ready rolled puff pastry (or homemade butter puff pastry)
  • 500g cooked beef, cut into small chunks (I used brisket)
  • cooked vegetables, about 250g, cut into small pieces (I used potatoes and swede)
  • 20 soft ready-to-eat dried apricots
  • 2 tablespoons mango chutney
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder (of your choice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • a little gravy or stock (about 1 to 2 tablespoons)
  • 1 egg, beaten with a little milk
  • sea salt (I used Malden sea salt)

Optional

  • 500g cooked turkey, shredded or cut into small pieces (in place of beef, turkey can be used too)

Note

A truly delectable spicy pie that is made with meat and vegetable leftovers with a little bit of exotic fruit and spices added, and a crunchy salt glaze crust. Use ready-made and ready-rolled pastry for ease, or your own butter puff pastry, as I did with the pie in the photos. Adjust the pie filling ingredients and spices to taste.This pie is great when leftover beef or turkey is used.

Directions

Step 1 Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and grease a shallow pie dish, such as an enamel one. Place a baking sheet into the oven to heat up.
Step 2 Place one sheet of ready-rolled pastry on the greased pie plate and trim the edges, saving any excess pastry for the pastry shapes.
Step 3 Mix all of the pie filling ingredients together, except the beaten egg and sea salt. Pile all of the filling ingredients into the middle of the lined pie dish, leaving a border of about 1cm and pat it down carefully.
Step 4 Place the other rolled pastry sheet on top of the filling and crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork to seal the top and bottom pasty crusts together. Trim the excess pastry off.
Step 5 Stamp or cut out several pastry shapes from the excess pastry trimmings and set to one side.
Step 6 Make three of four cuts in the top of the pastry crust, to allow the steam to escape and then brush the beaten egg and milk over the top, before sprinkling over the sea salt.
Step 7 Arrange the pasty shapes all over the tip of the pastry lid and then brush them with some beaten egg before scattering some sea salt over them.
Step 8 Place the pie dish on the hot pre-heated baking sheet on the oven and place it on the bottom of the oven, to crisp up the base of the pie. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the pastry is well risen and golden brown, moving the pie to the top shelf half way through.
Step 9 Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before cutting in slices and serving.
Step 10 Freezes well, but only if the filling ingredients have not been frozen before. Use any meat or vegetables you have to hand.

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (13)

Curried Beef and Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust

As there is an egg used in this recipe, and it is OUR Twelfth Night Tea Time Treat today, I am entering this into this months Tea Time Treats, which is being hosted by my NEW co-host Janie, over at The Hedgecombers, and the theme is EGGS!

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (15)

Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe

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Twelfth Night, Epiphany and Spices! Curried Beef & Apricot Pie with a Salt Glaze Crust Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the significance of the twelfth night? ›

Twelfth Night is a Christian holiday, celebrated on January 5. It marks the twelfth and final night of the Christmas season and the coming of Epiphany. Contrary to popular belief, Christmas is not just December 25. Contrary to popular belief, Christmas is not just December 25.

What to eat on Twelfth Night? ›

Eaten on Twelfth Night, the 'rois' – kings – clearly refers to the kings arriving on the day of Epiphany. It's a celebratory cake traditionally made with puff pastry in a round shape and filled with frangipane. I always buy one from Paul, the French boulangerie and patisserie chain that is now in UK.

Why is Twelfth Night so popular? ›

The play's depiction of a world where normal classifications of gender, class, and even sexual attraction have been inverted has made it one of Shakespeare's most popular and frequently performed plays, as it is spoken to successive generations that have grappled with these issues.

What is the moral message of Twelfth Night? ›

The main message of Twelfth Night is about love. How different love can be, how it can be fickle, irrational and self-serving. Often the cause of love is physical beauty, Shakespeare uses disguises and mistaken identity to show how misleading physical beauty can be.

What is the food of love in Twelfth Night? ›

If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.

What was the traditional food for an Elizabethan celebrating the Twelfth Night Epiphany? ›

Epiphany was second in importance, only to Christmas Day, itself. In England — both among royalty and commoners — Twelfth Night feasts included a large cake, called “Twelfth Cake,” that had a bean hidden in it.

Why is Twelfth Night funny? ›

In addition to the preposterous plot, cross-dressing, and misunderstandings, the play abounds in silliness. While the main characters are pursuing the wrong partners, the Fool, Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew provide plenty of comic relief in the form of ridiculous rhymes, songs, double entendre, and antics.

What is the main plot point of Twelfth Night? ›

A love triangle

Orsino is in love with Olivia, but she's mourning for her dead brother, so has rejected all his advances so far. He sends Cesario (who is really Viola) with love letters to woo Olivia on his behalf. Unfortunately for the Duke, Olivia is taken in by Cesario's disguise and falls in love with him.

What is the main theme of Twelfth Night? ›

Key themes

Romantic love, family love and even the love of love are all presented, as is the question of appearance and reality. The foolishness of ambition is shown through the actions of Olivia's steward Malvolio and the cross-dressing Viola/Cesario makes us think about the importance of gender.

What is the symbolism in Twelfth Night? ›

Twelfth Night has symbolic objects such as clothes, love letters, money, and jewels. Viola's boy costume symbolizes her identity change. Viola's boy costume is her transformation from being an aristocratic woman to being a handsome servant boy named Cesario. Maria's love letter to Malvolio symbolizes deception.

What is ironic about Twelfth Night? ›

The fact that the audience is aware that Viola is a woman and the characters are not is dramatic irony. The fact that Sebastian, Viola's twin brother, is actually alive, is also dramatic irony: the audience has been aware of this for several arcs before the characters are aware.

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