By Molly Trotter/KTVL.COM

MEDFORD, Ore. -- Kick off St. Patrick's day with a traditional "Bacon & Egg Pie" dish.

Many restaurants in the valley will be celebrating St. Patricks day with a special Irish menu.

38 Central is one of many local businesses serving up some special eats, one being the traditional "Bacon & Egg Pie."

If you are looking to cook your own Irish dish for the holiday, here are the ingredients for 38 Central's "Bacon & Egg Pie:"


FOR “3-2-1” PIE CRUST:
Known as a “3-2-1 dough” because it’s made up of 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part water (by weight)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
- 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

PROCESS:
- Combine the flour, salt in a large bowl and stir briefly until the mixture is aerated. Using a pastry blender or your
fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it’s in pea-size pieces that are slightly yellow in color, about
four to five minutes.
- Drizzle in four tablespoons of the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together. (Add the last tablespoon
of ice water if necessary, but don’t overwork the dough or it’ll become tough.)
 
Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then use it in the pie or
tart recipe of your choice

FOR BACON & EGG PIE:

This pie can be eaten cold or warm at home or on country picnics.

- 3-2-1 Pie Dough
- 5-8 Slices Irish bacon (thick sliced bacon-if you can’t get Irish sliced bacon use American style bacon)
- 6 Fresh, Whole Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolk
- 1/3 cup Diced White Onion
- 1 Bunch Chives or Green Onion, Chopped
- 1/3 cup heavy (double) cream
- ¼ cup aged cheddar, shredded
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chives or Green Onion, Chopped

Butter a 10 inch pie plate and roll out half the pastry and line the plate with this. Roll out the pastry and line a 10-inch (25cm) pie pan. Trim the pastry so that it is a bit bigger than the pan, then fold up the edges slightly so that
you have a slight lip all the way around.

This will prevent the cream from running out when you put the pie in
the oven. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, add the onions and cook until soft, five to eight minutes.
- Add the cream to the cooked onions and bring to simmer, add cheese, parsley and green onion.
- Remove cream from heat and temper egg yolk by adding small amounts of the hot liquid to the yolk, then mix
all together and season with salt and pepper.

Lay Bacon Strips like spokes of a wheel into pie then pour this into the pastry, carefully break the remaining eggs onto the tart, in between the bacon strips.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the custard is set in the center and the eggs on top are just cooked. Serve warm or allow to cool.

To make it a full meal, serve the pie wit fruit for breakfast or a lightly dressed salad for lunch.



For more information and location of 38 Central, visit http://38central.net/
Irish cooking for St. Patricks Day