Nooooo! So I'm stopping in Bothwell for nothing
Oh well, the accommodation looks pretty cool anyway.
Well, there is always the Tasmanian scallop pie - here are five of the best and then some gourmet pies. Note that you'll go through Ross on your way to Bothwell (as long as you turn off the highway). Drop into Ross Bakery and Bakery 31 and stock up!
Dunalley Bakery
168 Arthur Hwy, Dunalley
Flavoursome local scallops fill the soft pastry casing of the scallop pies ($8.50) at Dunalley Bakery. They swim in a mild curry sauce, which does not overpower the natural seafood taste. Not all bakeries use Tasmanian scallops, and if there are no locally caught scallops, Dunalley Bakery will not have scallop pies for sale. The head baker’s pastry recipe has won him multiple awards.
Blue Edge Bakery
55 Burgess St, Bicheno
You will find seven to eight fresh, local and seasonal scallops in the scallop pies at Blue Edge. The scallops are plump and sweet and the creamy curry sauce is made from an old favourite recipe and a dash of lemon complements the seafood. The pies are only ever made with fresh scallops sourced locally and are not currently available. But when they are, you had better get in quick to get a bite of one of the best scallop pies around.
Brighton’s Best Bakehouse
1 Midland Highway, Brighton
Quality ingredients are key to the success of these award-winning scallop pies ($7.90). The creamy curry sauce complementing the seafood is made from quality, authentic spices from Spice House and the pastry margarine used is the best money can buy. The pie took out the Best Seafood category at the Tasmanian Bakers Show and has been a successful entrant in The Great Aussie Pie Competition.
Ross Bakery
15 Church St, Ross
These crispy and slightly smoky scallop pies ($8.95) are baked in a wood-fired oven. The casing — puff pastry on top and pie pastry on the bottom — holds 6-8 scallops depending on size. The seafood is immersed in a mild laksa curry sauce. Around 60 scallop pies are handmade at the Ross Bakery each day and that number increases regularly parallel to the pie’s popularity
But if you want meat pies, then its:
Wursthaus Kitchen
1 Montpelier Retreat, Battery Point, Hobart
The Wursthaus knows that one of the best recipes for a good pie includes a deliciously thick crust and a hearty filling and these signature hand-made English-style pork pies are every bit that. With a hot water and lard pastry and a free-range pork filling, mildly spiced with pepper and mace (relative of Nutmeg), these decent-sized numbers ($15.90) would make a tasty dinner for two.
West Hobart Gourmet Meats
125 Hill St, West Hobart
It’s little wonder why these beef and Guinness pies ($6.50) were awarded reserve champion at the National Fine Food Awards. Made with award-winning Smith’s Pies pastry, these pyramid shaped pies are filled with a three-hour slow-cooked chuck steak, finely diced celery, mushroom and onion and delicious Guinness sauce.
Alfred Gough’s Handcrafted Pastries
Available at Hill Street Grocer in West Hobart, New Town, Lauderdale, Blackmans Bay and Devonport
Made using the traditional skills of Tasmanian pie man Alfred Gough himself, these pies ($21.90) make a delicious dinner for the family and with two options to choose from, either the Marion Bay free-range chicken with fennel and shallot soubise pie or braised Cape Grim beef and kipfler potato pie.
Jackman & McRoss
Battery Point, New Town and Hobart
Jackman & McRoss bakeries are renowned for their fresh curried scallop pies ($8 take away $9 have-in), but if you’re looking for something a little different to warm your bones this autumn try the fish pie. With fresh Tassie fish, chickpeas and korma all held together in the handmade butter pastry casing.
Bakery 31
31 Church St, Ross
While it is a little out of the way, pie diehards will attest that Bakery 31 in Ross is among the best for the tried and tested scallop pie. These warming morsels ($7.95) are filled with Tasmanian scallops that have been cooked in a creamy mild curry sauce before being wrapped up in a delicate puff pastry
