HOMITY PIE RECIPES

Steps:

• Put the flour and butter in a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and pulse until the mixture just comes together as a dough. Bring the dough together and flatten into a round.
• Put the pastry in the centre of a 20cm/8in springform cake tin and carefully ease it over the base and up the sides of the tin.
• Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes, or until just tender. Drain in a colander, tip back into the saucepan and cut into 3cm/1¼in pieces with a round-bladed knife.
• Melt the butter and oil in a frying pan and fry the onions gently for 15 minutes, or until soft and pale golden-brown. Add the garlic and cook for two further minutes, stirring regularly.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C (fan)/Gas 6.
• Add the onions and garlic to the potatoes and sprinkle with 100g/3½oz of the cheese and the parsley. Add the spinach leaves and season with nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined.
• Spoon the filling mixture into the pastry case. Pour over the cream and allow it to drizzle down between the layers. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Place the tin on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and pale golden-brown.
• Leave the pie to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Remove the pie from the tin and place it on a serving plate. Cut into thick wedges with a sharp knife.

Steps:

• To make the pastry, tip both the flours, a pinch of salt and the cayenne, if using, into a large bowl. Mix, then rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the egg and 1 tbsp cold water using a cutlery knife. Bring the pastry together into a ball, then cover and chill for 30 mins. Knead briefly until pliable, then roll out until it’s large enough to line a 20cm deep pie dish. Line the dish, pushing the pastry into the edge, then trim. Chill until needed.
• Meanwhile, for the filling, heat the butter in a large saucepan until sizzling and cook the onions with some seasoning and the leeks and thyme, if using, for 12-15 mins until soft and sticky. Stir the potatoes into the onion mix, then reduce the heat, cover and cook for 10-15 mins, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes break down when pressed with a wooden spoon. Pour over the cream, stir for a minute, then turn off the heat and leave to cool a little.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 with a baking tray inside. Stir half the cheddar and most of the spring onions through the potato and onion mix. Scatter half of the remaining cheddar over the base of the pastry case, then tip in the tip filling. Scatter with the rest of the cheese and spring onions. Bake on the hot baking tray for 40-45 mins until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least 10 mins. Serve hot, or leave to cool until just warm.