Spring Homity Pie

A spring take on a classic pie, that takes advantage of flavourful spring fresh ingredients like wild garlic, spring onions and spring greens. If you can’t find these, you can swap the wild garlic and spring greens with 150g of spinach or chard, and the spring onions with another leek.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Add the flours, cubed salted butter, a pinch of MSG and a pinch of salt to the bowl in a food processor.

Step 2

Pulse in the processor until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs, then add the large egg and pulse until it comes together as a dough. If it seems to be struggling or looks too dry, add a dash of cold water.

Step 3

Turn out the dough and push it together with your hands, shaping it into a puck. Don’t be tempted to knead the pastry, as this will develop the gluten and affect the desired crumbly texture.

Step 4

Roll it out into a rough circle using a rolling pin.

Step 5

Line the bottom of a 25cm fluted tart tin with parchment paper. A tin with a detachable bottom makes unmoulding the cooked pie very easy.

Step 6

Transfer the pastry disk into the lined 25cm tart tin, and press it in with your fingers, ensuring that there are no air bubbles left behind the pastry on the base or sides. Fold any excess over the edge of the tin and roll over it with the rolling pin for a nice and tidy edge top. Pop the tin in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Step 7

BONUS RECIPE: Any leftover pastry can be frozen for another day. Alternatively you can roll it to 5mm thickness, cut it in small rounds, paint them with egg wash or milk, sprinkle with black sesame seeds (or grated Parmesan), and bake for 8 minutes, for delicious savoury shortcrust biscuits.

Step 8

While the pastry rests and cools down, place the potato chunks in a pan of cold water. Season generously with salt (a grind of black pepper is optional) and bring it to a simmer. Cook the spuds until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Add in the wild garlic and de-stemmed spring greens to wilt for the last 30 seconds or so. Cool the leaves immediately in cold water. Drain well the potatoes and squeeze any excess water from the wilted leaves.

Step 9

While the potatoes are cooking, warm a knob of salted butter and a swirl of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the chopped leeks and spring onions down gently until starting to soften (about 10 minutes). Adjust seasoning to taste. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a final 2 minutes.

Step 10

When everything is ready, mix the mustard and crème fraiche together in a large mixing bowl, add a little grating of nutmeg and a grind of roasted black pepper. Add the potatoes, leeks, green leaves and two thirds of the cheese. Mix well, you want the potatoes to break up as you mix, but not turn to mash, coarse and rustic is the feel you’re aiming for. Taste and tweak the seasoning to your liking with extra salt, and/or black pepper if it needs it.

Step 11

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Step 12

Tip the filling into the pastry case, press it out to the edges, then scatter over the remaining cheese.

Step 13

Place in the oven and bake at 180C for 45min, until the pastry is crisp, and the top is golden.

Step 14

Take it out of the oven and leave it to cool for 15-20 minutes before popping it out of the tart tin.

Step 15

Remove the pie from the tin, slice it into portions and serve it warm. Enjoy!