Today’s comforting pie is super-adaptable and brilliant for using up any leftover bits of cheese. The classic homity pie filling of potatoes, onions and cream works beautifully with a jumble of cheese ends – cheddar, stilton, taleggio or whatever pungent blocks and rinds are lurking in your fridge drawer; it’s also a fantastic base for using up other root vegetables besides potatoes – celeriac, for example, bring earthiness, beetroot turns the entire filling a vibrant purple, while salsify adds a nutty note. Use whatever you have to hand, and waste nothing.
Homity pie with cheese ends and seasonal roots
This is a long-time family favourite. Mum used to make it for me as a kid and now I make it for my own children. This is an updated version of a recipe from my first book, The Natural Cook, specifically designed both to use up cheese ends and to be more flexible. Whether you’re using a mixture of potatoes and celeriac or experimenting with beetroot for a striking purple pie, this makes a a very sating, rich and flavourful meal that would also work as a centrepiece. Serve warm with a crisp green salad, dressed with a sharp dressing to cut through all that rich cheese.
Serves 6
For the pastry case
200g wholemeal flour (spelt for preference), plus extra for dusting
A pinch of sea salt
100g cold diced butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
For the filling
500g new potatoes, or other root vegetables (carrots, celeriac, parsnips, beetroot, say), scrubbed clean, if need be
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
A few thyme leaves (optional)
2 leeks, dark green tops only, thinly sliced, or 1 whole leek, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 sprigs parsley, roughly chopped from stem to leaf
150ml double cream
200g mixed cheese ends (cheddar, stilton, taleggio), grated or chopped
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Olive oil
Mix the flour and salt in a blender or large bowl, add the butter and work the mix until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg and just enough cold water (you’ll probably need between three and five tablespoons) to bring everything together into a firm dough, then cover and chill for half an hour.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a high-sided tart tin or pie dish, gently pressing the pastry into the corners and letting it overhang all around the edge. Prick the base all over with a fork, chill for another 10 minutes, then blind bake on a tray at 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½, until the tart case starts to turn golden. Take out of the oven and trim the edges neatly with a bread knife (the trimmings make an excellent snack, incidentally).
Meanwhile, chop the root veg into chunks, then boil them in salted water until tender. Drain and leave to steam dry.
While the roots are cooking, gently saute the onion, garlic, thyme and leeks in the olive oil until soft and caramelised. Stir in the drained roots, parsley and cream, season generously, then pile into the pastry case. Scatter over the grated cheese and nestle any chunks of soft cheese in and around the vegetables – the filling should be heaped and rustic-looking. Return to the oven and bake until the top is bubbling and golden, with the odd charred patch here and there.
Remove and leave to rest and set for 10 minutes, then slice and serve warm, at room temperature or even straight from the fridge, where it will keep for up to five days.