Wednesday 26 September 2018

Cheese and Onion Pie.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Fun fact: I've made this pie three times in the past month.
Maybe because it reminded me all of school dinner cheese and onion pie and I was being all nostalgic in my old age.
Because no matter how old I get, September will always be the month I associate with back-to-school. A month of new beginnings, new uniform, and new stationary. As a 90's and early 00's school-goer, Partners stationary shop was the place to go for new notebooks and pens. Now, as I am reliably informed by my young nieces, Smiggle is the place to be seen.

As an adult, I love that I can now just enjoy the fun things about September and not have to worry about homework and new teachers. And, I love that if I am feeling all nostalgic about school dinners, I can make my own at home. Today, we are making a classic Lancashire Cheese and Onion Pie but I definitely need to bake up a chocolate cake with mint or pink custard soon! 

I first made this cheese and onion pie during Ramadan. We were sick of spicy food and so this pie definitely hit the spot at Iftar one night. And yes like I mentioned earlier, I have made this recipe three times in the past month. Twice I used my favourite Cheddar cheese and once I experimented with the more traditional Lancashire. You can use either or even a mix of both but my favourite will always be the Cheddar.
As for the pastry, I prefer making my own but feel free to use ready-made shortcrust. About 400g will do. Serve the pie as it is or if you want a real trip down memory lane, with chips and beans for a nostalgic dinner treat.


Vegetarian Pies, previously: cheese, leek and potato pie // mini caramelised onion and cheddar quiches // cheddar and caramelised onion flan // cheddar and caramelised onion pasties // cheese and onion pasties

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Pastry:
1. Self-Raising Flour
2. Salt
3. Butter
4. Ice Cold Water

For the Filling:

1. Butter
2. Onions
3. Salt
4. White Pepper
5. Water
6. Cheddar Cheese or Lancashire Cheese
7. Milk

Bismillah, let's begin!

The pie begins with pastry. I made mine at home but you could also use 400g ready-made shortcrust  or puff pastry if you prefer. For the homemade version, put 200g Self-Raising Flour into a mixing bowl.

Add a Pinch of Salt and 120g cold and cubed Butter.

Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. You can also use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a food processor to make the pastry.

Finally, pour in Ice Cold Water, a tablespoon at time. Mix until a dough forms.

Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, if you have time. If not, use straight away.

Next, let's make the filling. Melt 25g Butter in a large pan.

Peel and roughly chop 3 Onions.

Add the chopped onions to the pan and stir until they are gently sizzling.

Cover with a pan and cook the onions over a low heat for 15 minutes.

Uncover and stir-fry for a minute without colouring the onions too much.

Add in 1/4 teaspoon Salt and 1/2 teaspoon White Pepper.

Stir in before ....

... pouring in 150ml Water.

Stir the water in and let the onions cook until ...


... the liquid has evaporated.


Spread the onions onto a plate and allow to cool.

It's time to bake the pie so put the oven onto 180C or Gas Mark 4. Grease a 20cm (8 inch) loose-bottomed tart tin and place a baking tray into the oven to heat up.

Note: I haven't got that exact tin so I used a 20cm flan ring instead. It worked well but a tin would have been better.

When you are ready to bake, roll out 2/3 of the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is about 0.5cm (1/4 inch) thick.

Fit the rolled pastry into the tart tin. Let the excess hang over the edge - we will trim it later.

Next, the cheese! Traditionally, Lancashire cheese is used in this recipe but I didn't have any in the fridge so used Cheddar instead.

Coarsely grate 160g Cheddar Cheese.You can add more Cheddar, if you prefer. I found that 160g was enough for me.


But if you want to be more traditional, instead of Cheddar use Lancashire cheese.


Coarsely grate up 250g Lancashire Cheese to use in place of the Cheddar.


We have tried both versions of the pie and I personally prefer the Cheddar version.

Let's fill our pie. We have the pastry, the grated cheese, the cooled onions, and a little milk.

Spoon half the onions into the tin.

Sprinkle over half the grated cheese.

Add the remaining onions.

And, the remaining cheese.

Finally, pour in 40ml Milk. This is optional but without it I find that this pie can be a little dry. Note - if you've used Lancashire cheese, you don't need to add the milk.

Roll out the remaining 1/3 pastry to the same thickness - about 0.5cm (1/4 inch) thick. Place the pastry on top.

Trim the edges of the pie with a sharp knife, press the edges down with a fork, poke a hole in the centre, and brush the top of the pie with Milk.

Put the tart tin onto the hot baking tray from the oven and bake the pie for 40-50 minutes at 180C or Gas Mark 4 until it is golden brown.

Let the pie cool in the tin for 20-30 minutes before ....

... taking it out of the tin. Mine is a little on the rough side because I used the flan case. Yours will look better if you use a proper tin.

Serve the pie with whatever you fancy. Here, we went with simple Branston pickle but for the full nostalgic school dinner experience, enjoy the pie with chips and beans.

Cheese and Onion Pie.

a vegetarian Lancashire classic.

Prep Time: About 1 hour.
Cook Time: About 50 minutes.
Serves: About 4 people.

Ingredients

For the Pastry
200g Self-Raising Flour
Pinch of Salt
120g Butter, cold and cut into cubes
Ice Cold Water, as needed

For the Filling
25g Butter
3 Onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon White Pepper
150ml Water
160g Grated Cheddar Cheese OR 250g coarsely grated Lancashire Cheese
40ml Milk

Make the pastry:
Into a mixing bowl, put in the flour, salt and cold butter. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips or an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment or food processor. When the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, add and mix in the cold water a tablespoon at a time until you have a dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, if you have time. If not, use straight away.

Cook the onions:
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add in the chopped onions and fry until they gently sizzle. Cover the pan with a lid and leave on a low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and stir-fry for a minute without letting the onions colour too much. Add in the salt, white pepper and water. Stir and cook until the water has evaporated. Spread the onions out on a plate and allow to cool.

Prepare the oven and tin:
Turn the oven onto 180C or Gas Mark 4 and put a baking tray into the oven to heat up. Grease a 20cm (8 inch) loose-bottomed tart tin.

Assemble the pie:
Roll 2/3 of the pastry dough to approximately 0.5cm (1/4 inch) thick on a lightly floured surface. Line the tart tin with the pastry, letting the extra pastry hang over the edge. Spoon in half the onions, then half the grated cheese, the rest of the onions, and the rest of the grated cheese. Pour over the milk (leave out if you've used Lancashire cheese) before rolling out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and placing over the pie. Trim the edges of the pie, press the edges down with a fork, poke a hole in the centre, and brush the top of the pie with milk.

Bake the pie:
Put the tart tin onto the hot baking tray from the oven. Bake the pie for 40-50 minutes at 180C or Gas Mark 4 until the top is golden brown.

Cool and serve:
Let the pie cool for 20-30 minutes before taking out of the tin. Cut into wedges and serve.

{adapted from bbc food}

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your pie!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


Spice Enthusiast
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