This week marks British Pie Week and we couldn’t be happier. Try out these delicious recipes that are as easy as, well, pie to make!

Image: Farmison & Co

The weather is still a bit nippy out, which means there’s nothing better than tucking into a hearty meal to warm you up. Celebrate British Pie Week this week by making one of these delicious sweet or savoury pie recipes – we’ve got you covered!

Mushroom, spinach and kale pie

Image: The Mushroom Bureau

Whether you’re a vegetarian or simply fancy a veg-packed pie, then this beauty could be your Friday night treat.

• Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g closed-cup mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 250g spinach, wilted
• 100g kale, cooked
• 2 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 300g cooked sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp light creme fraiche
• 150g feta cheese, cubed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 sheets filo pastry

Method

1. Heat oven to 200°C. Heat half the oil in a large non-stick pan and fry mushrooms on a high heat for about 5 minutes until golden.
2. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute, then tip in the stock and sweet potatoes. Bubble for a few minutes until reduced.
3. Season, then remove from the heat, stir in creme fraiche, spinach and kale.
4. Pour into a pie dish and top with the cubed feta. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
5. Brush each sheet of filo with the remaining oil, quarter the sheets then loosely scrunch up and lay on top of pie filling.
6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden.
7. Serve with extra green vegetables like steamed broccoli and green beans.

Ox cheek pie

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Image: Farmison & Co 

This ox cheek pie is a hearty treat that’ll be sure to please all of the family.

• Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1kg ox cheek
• 6 shallots split in half
• 2 sticks celery cut into batons
• 3 carrots cut in half lengthways
• 1 head garlic split in half
• Sprig of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 20ml rapeseed oil
• 1 bottle Stout or Porter
• 100ml Ruby port (optional)
• 500 ml beef stock
• 1 tbsp English mustard
• Few drops Worcester sauce
• Salt & cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 tbls tomato puree
• 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with a little cold water
• Ready-made puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk

Method

For the beef

1. Preheat oven 140°C fan assisted or 160°C without a fan (gas 3) or set the slow cooker.
2. Take a large, heavy-based frying pan, and add a little oil & fry the ox cheek on all sides then transfer to a casserole dish or slow cooker.
3. Next fry the vegetables in the same pan until lightly browned then add the Stout & Port if using, reduce by two thirds then add the herbs, mustard, Worcester sauce, puree & beef stock then reduce a little, thicken with a tablespoon cornflour mixed with a little cold water stirred into the boiling broth.
4. Pour the sauce over the ox cheek and vegetables then cover with a tight-fitting lid & place in the oven and cook for 3½ hours or until the meat is tender when pierced with a skewer.
5. When cooked pass off the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan & reduce to a rich & glossy.
6. Discard the vegetables & spices then shred the meat using two forks & mix with the sauce.

For the pie

1. Choose one large or four small pie dishes & spoon in the filling.

2. Roll out pastry to 3mm thick then cut out pastry discs large enough to cover the pie dish, make an insertion in the centre of the pastry then layer over the pie.

3. Seal the edges to the pie dish, brush with egg glaze & bake in preheated oven 170°C fan assisted or 190°C without a fan (gas 5) for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden & the filling piping hot.

Chicken and ham hock pie

Image: Higgidy

Higgidy is spreading the feel-good feeling this British Pie Week by launching its #PieceofthePie campaign. The West Sussex-based business has pledged to match every Higgidy pie bought in supermarkets across the country with a pie donation to FareShare, the charity that fights hunger and tackles food waste in the UK.

• Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the filling

• 2-3 tbsp chickpea flour
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 500g chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100g or 4 large banana shallots, peeled and quartered
• 350ml chicken stock
• 200g ham hock, pulled or shredded into finger-length pieces
• 250g mascarpone

For the mash

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 75g curly kale
• 2 x 400g tins of butterbeans
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6.
2. Start off by combining the chickpea flour, mustard powder and cayenne in a large bowl. Then slice the chicken thighs into large bite-sized chunks and toss them in the flour mixture.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large, shallow casserole or a large frying pan. Over a medium heat, fry the shallots for 3-4 minutes or until they have just begun to caramelise. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add a further tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and, over a high heat, fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes before turning the pieces over and cooking for 2-3 minutes more. The chicken should be nice and golden.
4. Lower the heat slightly, return the shallots to the pan, add the hot chicken stock and give the mixture a good stir. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 6-7 minutes. You may need to stir the sauce halfway through to stop the mixture ‘catching’ on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, stir in the ham and 100g of the mascarpone (saving 150g for the mash). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, tip into an ovenproof dish.
5. To make the mash: heat the oil and butter in a nonstick pan until sizzling. Add the garlic, kale and 50ml of water. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 8 minutes or until the kale has wilted and is tender. Meanwhile, drain the beans and rinse well under the tap. Then, with a fork or potato masher, squish the beans to a nobbly mush. Stir the beans into the kale and garlic mixture, add the zest and juice of the lemon and remaining mascarpone cheese. Season with salt and black pepper.
6. Spoon the mash over the chicken pie filling and cook for 25-30 minutes in your preheated oven. Serve piping hot.

Banana custard pie

Image: Shaken Udder

Tuck into this American-style banana custard pie, which tastes truly divine!

• Serves 8

Ingredients

• Plain flour, for dusting
• 500g block sweet shortcrust pastry, chilled
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2-3 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into 1cm discs
• 250ml double cream
• 250ml Shaken Udder Top Banana! milkshake
• 8 large free-range egg yolks
• 1-2 tbsp sprinkles

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC (fan)/gas mark 4.
2. Dust a clean work surface with flour, then roll the pastry out into a large circle which is around half a centimetre thick.
3. Transfer the rolled pastry into a 25cm deep loose-bottomed tart tin and gently press it into the fluting and the corners of the tart tin. Trim off the excess pastry and prick the base all over with a fork, then place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
4. While the pastry case is chilling, use the excess pastry to cut out different shapes to decorate the tart with, then place them on a baking tray, brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Set to one side.
5. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill to the top with uncooked rice or baking beans. Bake for 25 mins, then remove the baking paper and rice and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, along with the tray of pastry shapes until they are golden.
6. Remove the tart tin and pastry shapes from the oven and reduce the temperature to 140ºC/120ºC (fan)/gas mark 1.
7. Arrange the banana discs on the bottom of the pastry case and put to one side.
8. Bring the cream and Shaken Udder Top Banana! milkshake to the boil in a medium saucepan and beat the egg yolks in a separate large bowl. Gradually add the boiling cream mixture to the eggs, whisking all the time, then strain into a jug and skim off any foam.
9. Pour the custard into the pastry case, then bake for 35-40 minutes until the custard is set, but still has a slight wobble.
10. Once baked, remove the tart from the tin and place on a serving plate. Scatter the sprinkles over the top, then decorate with the pastry shapes. Serve warm.

Apple and almond pie

Image: Pink Lady Apples

Do you need an excuse to cook a traditional apple pie? Well, if you do – British Pie Week has to be it.

• Serves 8

Ingredients

• 7 Pink Lady apples
• 340g plain flour
• 225g butter
• 4 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 250ml elderflower cordial
• 100ml water
• 1 finely grated zest of lemon
• 25g ground almonds
• 115g white marzipan
• 1 pack of flaked almonds
• Icing sugar for dusting

Method

1. Put the flour and butter into a food processor fitted with a plastic blade and whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the caster sugar and whiz again. Now add the yolk and whiz again until your pastry comes together into a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 45 minutes or so.

2. Quarter the apples and remove the core from each piece. I don’t peel the apples as I love the pink colour of the skin but peel them if you prefer. Cut each quarter into slices, about 3mm thick at the thickest part. Put them into a saucepan with the cordial and water, cover and simmer the apples very gently until they are just beginning to get tender on the outside. Strain off the liquid and measure how much you have. If it is more than about 75ml then put it into a small saucepan and boil to reduce it to 75ml. Stir in the zest, pour the liquid over the apples and leave to cool. Preheat the oven to 190ºC and put a metal baking sheet into it.

3. Roll out 2/3 of the pastry and line a pie dish (measuring 25cm in diameter, 5-6 cm deep) with it. Sprinkle the ground almonds on the bottom of the pie. Break the marzipan up into little chunks. Spoon the apples (with the elderflower syrup) into the case, scattering the chunks of marzipan as you go.

4. Roll out the rest of the pastry and make 6 strips with which to form a lattice on the top. Moisten each end of the pastry strips and lay them across the top of the pie. Press down to seal. Put this into the oven on top of the baking sheet and cook until golden. It will take about 30 minutes. About 8 minutes before the end of cooking time, scatter a handful of flaked almonds on top and return to the oven – the almonds will toast in the final stage of baking. Dust the pie lightly with icing sugar before serving.

 

Will you be making any of these hearty pies? Let us know by tweeting us @goodhomesmag or post a comment on our Facebook page.

 

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