For the crust – Using your food processor, pulse the flour, butter, cream cheese and salt until the butter and cheese are in small pieces – pulse about 15 times. Add the ice water all at once and process until the mixture almost forms a ball. Lay out 2 pieces of plastic wrap on your counter in an ‘X’, and dump the pastry onto the spot where the plastic wrap overlaps. Use the wrap and your hands to quickly smoosh the dough into a fairly even 6 x 4 inch rectangle, handling it as little as possible. Use the plastic wrap to wrap it tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

For the filling – Combine the drained and chopped artichokes, mayonnaise, cheese, parsley, chives, garlic, lemon juice and pepper in a medium bowl. This can be mixed together ahead of time and refrigerated, or just throw it together while your rolled out crusts are chilling.

To make the pie – remove the pastry from the fridge and allow it to warm up for a few minutes, then cut it into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Roll the larger piece out into an 11 x 15 inch rectangle and then gently press it into your 9 x 13 slab pan, paying special attention to the corners and allowing the excess to drape over the sides. Put this into the fridge and allow it to chill for about a half hour. Roll out the second piece of pastry into a 10 x 14 inch rectangle, carefully place it onto a lightly floured piece of parchment and then refrigerate this as well. I prepped both crusts before starting the filling.

Preheat the oven to 400, spread the prepared filling into your chilled bottom crust, cut the ‘top crust’ into even strips and lattice the top. Whisk together the egg yolk and water and brush evenly across all of the visible top crust, then generously sprinkle on some extra cheese. Place the slab pie on a parchment lined large baking sheet (just in case) and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the crust is a lovely, glossy brown. Cool for a bit before attempting to slice, we loved ours at room temperature – enjoy!