MORE PLEASE - PIES

Macaroni Pie, Homity Pie and Beef and Gravy Pie - GREAT BRITAIN REPRESENT

Hi lovely More Please team, it’s pie time! Thanks as always for supporting the making of the Dinner Party. It is hugely appreciated.

I love making pies, I find the process incredibly therapeutic. I kind of adore the peaceful stages, the waiting, the reverence. It builds up so much suspense and excitement. Cutting into a pie is like opening a present. Not to mention there’s the sense of achievement when you execute it perfectly, which even after many, many years, still fills me with joy. Moreover, a ginormous pie is a really lovely way to fill a table of friends. It’s a majestic yet simple thing, bold and daring but also comforting and familiar.

For a pie, you need good pastry. Now, I am in no way a snob about the shop bought stuff. I totally appreciate that not everyone wants or has time to make their own, so feel free to swap it in at any time. But, for those of you who want to nail a great, easy to work with, flakey pastry, I’ve got you.

The filling is another matter. Pies are personal, everyone has their favourite. For me, my overall priority is moisture. With a crisp, crunchy exterior there should always be a rich and lush filling that provides a harmoniously saucy texture. I personally would take that over structural integrity. Today’s Beef and Gravy pie is the lushest, most juicy pie I’ve ever made.

But that’s not always a pie's best use (I don’t recommend a gravy pie at a picnic, for example). So I’ve added in a couple more firm options for when you want something a bit more portable. Homity Pie is a wonderful, veg packed pie hailing from Devon. Potatoes, leeks and sharp cheddar cheese are the key players, propped up by double cream, lots of mustard and fresh herbs. Homity pie is topless so some might call it a tart, but given its deep filled nature this is very much a pie in my book, and a scrumptious one at that.

Finally I went very rogue and made a riff on a Scottish delicacy - Macaroni Pie. This is exactly what it sounds like - macaroni cheese encased in pastry. I am a card-carrying member of the “mac and cheese should be saucy” club, so putting it in a pie (and therefore increasing cooking time and overall dryness factors) felt very strange. However I was pleasantly surprised to find mine was still juicy despite the odds. It’s great fun, delicious and would be excellent for a big buffet table.

THE PASTRY, PLUS SOME HANDY TIPS

This is a base recipe for a flakey, buttery, crisp pastry, similar but not quite the same as rough puff. It’s still got chunky pieces of butter through it, but it is strengthened by eggs which helps to keep it pliable and firm.