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| Finished pie and leftover cheese straws |
This is Dad’s favourite; I remember having it as a special
meal every Easter holiday in the caravan, with mushy peas or baked peas - it
only comes out on special occasions now though! This is my Gran’s recipe that I’ve
adapted by adding more cheese, I use a really strong cheddar, and the mustard
brings out the flavour of it even more, if you’re not such a fan of this
flavour you can use a milder cheese, but I think that kind of defeats the
object of a cheese and onion pie…
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| Pastry coming together |
Ingredients:
8oz plain flour
2oz lard/Trex (vegetarian alternative)
2oz butter/marg
large pinch salt and pepper
1.5tsp mustard powder
4oz grated extra mature cheddar
8tbsp cold water
3 medium onions
6oz grated extra mature cheddar, plus extra for the top of
the pie
3 eggs
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| Pastry ready to chill |
large pinch salt and pepper
1 beaten egg to seal and glaze
Oven at 170oC fan oven/190oC other ovens
7in pie dish, approx 2in deep
Method:
1. First make the pastry by rubbing the lard and marg into
the flour and mustard powder until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the seasoning
and cheese and mix well.
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| Rolled out pastry base |
2. Add the water to the bowl slowly and mix with your hand
until it comes together to make a soft, but not sticky, pastry. You might not
need all of the water, or you might even need more.
3. Tip the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and
bring it together into a smooth pastry. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at
least two hours – the longer the better as it makes the pastry easier to work
with.
4. Whilst the pastry is chilling it’s time to make the
filling; finely dice the onions, cover with water and boil for 15 minutes, or
until soft and translucent.
5. To make the filling add the cheese, eggs, mustard and
seasoning to a large bowl and mix.
6. Once the onions are soft, drain them and leave to cool
until they’re cold enough to touch so they won’t scramble the eggs, then add to
the filling mix. Leave this to one side now until you’ve sorted your pastry.
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| Lined pastry base |
7. Once the pastry is chilled cut it into 2 pieces, of one
third and two thirds. Roll out the larger piece until it’s one and a half times
larger than your pie tin. Pick up the pastry gently and lay it into the tin. Lift
up the sides of the pastry so it falls into the corners and then gently press
the pastry into the sides of the tin. Leave the edges over hanging.
8. Pour the pie filling into the pastry base and glaze the
edges with beaten egg
9. Roll out the other half of the pastry on a floured
surface until it’s 0.5cm thick and gently lay it over the top of the pie. Press
the edges together so they seal and then use a sharp knife to cut away the
excess pastry (you can use this to make decorations for the top of your pie, or
make cheese straws by twisting strands of the pastry, which will take approx.
20 minutes to bake)
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| Base, filling and lid for construction |
10. Crimp the edges of the pie, brush with egg, sprinkle
with the extra cheese and cut two small slits in the top of the pie to let the
steam escape.
11. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven on a preheated
baking tray for 30-40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the
centre of the pie is firm to touch – if the pie browns too quickly turn the
oven temperature down slightly and keep cooking until the pie is firm to touch.
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| Pie ready for the oven! |
This pie is tastiest warm or at room temperature, but of
course is good straight out of the oven too if you can’t wait! Like I said, we
love it with baked beans or mushy peas and some buttery mashed potatoes!
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| Finished piece of pie! |
Happy Baking!
The Baking Ginger xx
