She Buys Mystipies

For Their Perfect Flaky Crusts



Fellow foodblogging friend, Jeanne of Cooksister in London is hosting a foodblogging event today called "Waiter, there's something in my..." that requires participants to make a pie. Any kind of pie, as long as it is 'covered'. Over here in San Francisco, even Sandra Lee would be hard pressed to put as little effort into pie making as I do.

The recipe is simple: All it takes is a trip to the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market where I can pick up a delicious handmade, artisinal chicken and mushroom Mystipie for $6. I then rush it home to a preheated oven, where I settle it to heat for 20 minutes. This is cooking at its easiest folks! The impressive result of all my hard work in the kitchen is a warm crispy mass of buttery, flaky pastry, encasing a creamy filling of chicken and mushroom, that shatters, crumbles and crunches as I hurry to eat it. It's a few minutes of messy, mouthwatering fun.

To be honest, what's inside the pie is of little consequence here, so overshadowed is it by the tower of light, crispy leaves that hide it from view. The Vegetable Coconut Curry pies have a great flavour, but I prefer some texture and bite in the middle of my pie, so I tend to go for the meat ones instead. The filling is just a vehicle for pastry, anyway and that's the allure. I don't have much patience for making flaky pastry, so I am lucky I have found Yumna who will do it for me.

Yumna, who I met at the Fancy Food Show, is from South Africa. She first started making these pies when she got homesick. She says:

"The smell of pies always reminds me of home. My fondest memory is waking to the delicious aroma of freshly baked beef pies wafting through the house. I still think of my mum every time I smell pies baking."

Thankfully for all of us San Franciscans, Yumna stopped getting homesick, but because everyone she knew loved them so much, she kept on making the pies that had given her so much comfort. One friend even described them as a 'warm hug' which perfectly sums up their attraction. Mystipies are available at the La Cocina stall on Saturdays at the Ferry Plaza, at the Alemany Farmers' Market or at Mission Pies.

Local Resources
South African style Pies | Mystipies
Community Kitchen | La Cocina
Other Resources & Further Reading
Event Host | Cooksister



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She Buys Mystipies