One of the world’s favourite ways of cooking is baking. Mix some ingredients together, pour them into a baking tray and put it in the oven for some time, and you get some juicy and mouthwatering dish to dig into. We think it’s interesting how the same ingredients cooked on the stove can differ completely in taste from baking them in the oven. It’s almost like magic, and the dishes we’ve got for you here are so delicious you might believe magic is real.
We’ve selected various baked dishes for you; there are pies, quiches and some fish as well. All these recipes include different cooking methods; some you might need to half cook on the stove and let it continue in the oven, while others bake completely in the oven.
Let’s preheat that oven and get started!
1. Irish Stew Pie
Imagine Irish Stew, but baked!
This hearty dish is a national dish of Ireland. It is traditionally made using root vegetables, sometimes potatoes and onions. The protein in Irish stew is usually lamb, mutton or sometimes using kid. Although mutton is much fattier than lamb meat and takes longer to cook, its flavours are much stronger.
Recipe
Cooking Time: 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Ingredients
½ kilo lamb shoulder roast, boneless, cut into cubes.
Add ½ cup flour and ½ teaspoon of salt and black pepper in a bowl, coat the lamb pieces in the mix, and dust off any excess flour.
In a pan, brown the pieces of meat.
Add the onion and carrots in the same pan and cook them until they’re tender and crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the 1 tbsp of flour and mix well.
Gradually add the meat stock until the flour is dissolved.
When the mixture starts to boil, add the potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, tomato salsa, Worcestershire sauce, ¼ teaspoon of salt and black pepper.
Mix everything, then add the lamb pieces and let it boil before lowering the heat to let it simmer.
After 30 minutes, remove the bay leaf and the thyme and add the fresh mint.
Whisk the cream and the egg yolk to grease the sides of a pie plate so that the puff pastry will stick.
Transfer the lamb mixture to the pie plate.
Lightly roll out the puff pastry on a dusted surface to match the size of the pie plate.
Place the pastry on top of the filling and pie plate, then seal the edges of the pastry using a fork.
Make small slits in the pastry using a knife to let the heat out as it bakes.
Brush the top of the pastry with the egg yolk and cream glaze.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
Let the pie breathe for 10 minutes before digging in.
If you love Irish Stew, I promise you, you’ll love it even more now!
2. Asparagus Swiss Quiche
Though quiche is originally a form of tart originating in France, history clarifies that using eggs and cream as a form of custard in cooking has been widely used in British and Italian cuisines since the 14th and 13th centuries, respectively.
In addition to the pastry base of the quiche, it usually contains cheese and protein such as meat, seafood or a more vegetarian edition with vegetables. Quiche can also be served hot, cold and warm as well.
In a pan, cook the bacon strips until they’re crisp, then remove them and place them on a paper towel to absorb all the fat; keep only one spoon of fat in the pan.
Add the onions to the fat in the pan until they’re wilted, remove and place on a paper towel.
Cut a couple of asparagus spears into 1cms pieces for garnish.
Cut the remaining spears into the same size, then blanch in a bot for 5 minutes until it is crisp-tender and remove.
Mix the asparagus, onions, bacon pieces, flour, cheese, salt and pepper in the large bowl and mix everything well together.
In the baking pan, add the pie crust and fit into the pan before pouring the asparagus mixture in.
Mix the eggs and cream in a bowl, then pour over the mixture.
Add the garnish of asparagus spears.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and a knife comes out clear.
Rest the pie for 10 minutes before cutting into it, and enjoy!
3. Rutabaga Pie
Rutabaga, known to some as Swedish turnips, is a root vegetable often overlooked, a mix between turnips and cabbages. Rutabaga has an earthy, sweet taste packed with nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins C and E. Antioxidants are important for the immune system. They can help in the prevention of chronic health problems.
While both the root and the leaves can be eaten, there has been a tradition in northern and western England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man of carving the roots of Rutabaga as lanterns in celebration of Halloween.
If you haven’t had Rutabaga before, this recipe is a good place to start!
Recipe
Cooking Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Ingredients
3 cups Rutabaga, peeled and diced.
2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced.
2 litres of water.
½ kilo ground beef.
½ cup onions, chopped.
½ cup celery, sliced.
¼ cup of steak sauce.
Pie pastry to make a double crust.
1 teaspoon salt.
½ teaspoon black pepper.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Celsius.
Add the Rutabaga and the potatoes to a large pot, cook them until tender, then drain the water.
Add the onions, celery, and ground beef in a large pan. Cook them until the meat has browned and the vegetables are crisp and tender.
Add the Rutabaga, the potatoes, the steak sauce, salt and black pepper to the ground beef mixture.
In the pie pan, add the bottom crust, followed by the rutabaga mixture, then follow with the top pie crust.
Use a fork to seal the edges and cut four small slits to let the heat out.
Cook the pie for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook the pie for 35 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Let the pie set for about five minutes before digging in. I promise you; you will want to make this more than you think!
4. Lemon-Parsley Baked Cod
Cod is many people’s favourite fish to cook and eat; its thick meat has a light flavour and less fat than other types of fish, making it perfect for reducing your fat intake. The fish itself is easy to peel and cook. Cod liver oil is also popularly used as a dietary supplement since it contains large amounts of vitamin D, Omega-3, fatty acids and Iodine, which is very good for the health of the Thyroid.
Fish loves lemon; whether you use it in the cooking method or add some juice before digging in, the lemons give a refreshing taste!
Recipe
Cooking Time: 30 minutes.
Ingredients
4 fillets of cod.
3 tbsp of lemon juice.
3 tbsp of melted butter.
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced.
¼ cup of regular flour.
2 teaspoons lemon zest.
½ teaspoon of salt.
¼ teaspoon of paprika.
¼ teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning; you can skip it if you don’t have it.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, mix the lemon juice with the butter. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with all the seasonings.
Dip the cod fillets in the lemon juice-butter mixture before coating them in the flour mixture.
Spray the baking tray with cooking spray, then place the cod fillets, adding the remaining lemon mixture over the fillets.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the fish can be easily flaked using a fork.
Mix the parsley and lemon zest.
Add to the table and sprinkle with the parsley-lemon zest mixture!
5. Mini Pork Pies
What’s better to have at the dinner table or as a beautiful centrepiece at the dinner party than individual mini pork pies? It’s a bit of a process, but once you get the steps straight the first time, you’ll make them more often.
Add the cornstarch and broth to a small pot and keep stirring until blended. Keep stirring for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens.
In a large pan, cook the pork with the seasonings and the garlic until the pork is fully cooked. Make sure to drain any excess liquid.
Add the broth mixture to the pork and cook for a couple of minutes until everything’s combined, then let it cool.
Start to roll the pie crust on a lightly dusted worktop, use 2 different sizes of floured cookie cutters to make 20 pie bottoms and the smaller cutter to cut 20 pie tops.
Start by placing the pie bottoms into a muffin cup; fill each cup with 2 or 3 tbsp of the pork mixture.
Place the tops of the mini pies and seal the top and bottom edges together.
Mix the egg and the milk and brush the tops of the pies, then cut small slits at the centre of each top.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
These Mini Pork Pies are usually served warm!
6. Ham and Leek Pie
Leeks and other wild ramps, such as spring onions, are packed with nutrients that are all good for you. Besides having a vital role in improving digestion, leeks help reduce inflammation, fight off infections, aid in weight loss, and are good for your blood sugar levels and brain; they will also help fight cancer and heart disease.
Making Ham and Leek Pie can be handy for lunch and dinner parties, and it stores well in the fridge until it’s time to serve or eat it. This delicious pie is packed with all the nutrients your body can need when you’re on a diet!
Let’s get to it!
Recipe
Cooking Time: 1 hour.
Ingredients
4 cups of the white part of the leeks, sliced.
2 cups sliced mushrooms.
3 medium-sized carrots, sliced.
¼ cup of butter, cut into cubes.
½ cup regular flour.
1 ¼ cups milk.
1 ¼ cups of vegetable broth.
1 ¾ cups of cooked ham, cut into cubes.
1 large egg.
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced.
½ teaspoon nutmeg.
1 teaspoon black pepper.
1 sheet of puff pastry.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 425°.
In a large pan, melt the butter before adding the carrots, mushrooms and leeks and cook them until tender.
Add the flour and mix it well with the ingredients.
Gradually add the milk, followed by the broth, until everything is thoroughly combined.
Keep stirring over medium heat for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens.
Take off the heat, and add the ham, pepper, nutmeg and parsley.
Unfold the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, then use your pie dish as a guide to cut the pie top.
Grease the pie dish, fill it with the ham and leek mixture, then cover with the pastry.
Cut small slits on top of the pastry.
Beat the egg and brush the pastry top for a golden finish colour.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
It’s tempting to dig in right after taking the pie out of the oven, but you’ve got to let it stand for a mere 5 minutes before getting started. It’s worth the wait.
Now that you have the recipe for six delicious baked main dishes, we hope they help you find warmth and serenity in the kitchen. Bon Appetit!
Nouran Ashraf 
Asmaa Alhashimy