Mixed Potato Crawfish Torte

simplyliving's Note:

A southern, down home inspired torte

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-6

Yield: 1.0 torte

For filling

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic clove
• 12 ounces crawfish tails, roughly chopped
• creole and cajun seasoning
• 6 ounces smoked gouda cheese, finely shredded
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 medium yukon gold potato
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

For crust

• 1 cup butter, cubed and chilled (2 sticks)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 -10 tablespoons ice water
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons water (for egg wash)

Directions:

1. For the Crust, use a food processor and begin with half of the flour in the bowl. Add 2-3 Tbsp butter and 2-3 Tbsp ice water. Pulse to obtain a pebble-like texture (approximately 8-10 2 second pulses). Continue to add butter and ice water, alternating and pulsing between each set until all butter is used. Separate dough into two equal balls. Place each dough ball between two sheets of waxed paper and roll out into a circle an inch or so larger than the pie dish to be used for baking. Place both sheets of dough in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes to fully chill. After dough has chilled, pull off waxed paper and form to baking dish. Set second sheet of dough in the fridge until the torte is constructed.
2. For the filling, preheat oven to 375. Heat large skillet to medium/medium high heat. Add oil to skillet. Once oil is hot, add diced/minced veggies to skillet. Sprinkle liberally with Creole and Cajun seasoning. Once onions begin to become transparent, add crawfish and continue to heat until water has cooked from the bottom of the pan. Place cream and thyme in small pot over low/medium low heat until heated through. While veggies/crawfish mixture is cooking, begin layering sweet potatoes in the bottom of the dough lined pie dish. First, layer the sweet potato, leaving no gaps but not stacking more than two slices. Second, layer the white potato, following the same directions as for the sweet potato. After creating a layer of each potato, pour cream mixture over potatoes. Evenly distribute crawfish/veggie mixture over potatoes. Evenly cover crawfish mixture with shredded cheese. Place second sheet of dough on top, sealing the edges and cutting vents in top of dough. Brush egg wash over crust top. Bake in oven for 45 minutes, until golden brown and potatoes are soft.