Irish Pie
You could eat this pie still warm from the oven, or you could wait for it to go completely cold, wrap it in a snug covering of greaseproof paper, then put it in the fridge overnight. Some meals are best if you can resist eating them for a while.
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
30
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
120
MINUTES
Ingredients
300g shortcrust pastry
20g butter
2 large leeks, cleaned and
roughly chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ head of savoy cabbage,
finely sliced
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
100g strong cheddar, cubed
Beaten egg (for decoration)
Method
Cut the pastry into 2 pieces — 200g and 100g. Roll out the larger piece of pastry on a floured smooth surface until about ½cm thick. Line a medium (9cm diameter) springform tin with the rolled pastry, eaving the edges of the pastry hanging over the side. Place into the fridge. Cover the smaller piece of pastry and put it into the fridge until later.
Take a large frying pan, place it onto a medium heat and melt the butter. Gently fry off the leeks until they just begin to soften. Add the potatoes and coat in the leek/butter mixture. Stir around until the edges of the potatoes begin to soften. Add the finely sliced cabbage and ground nutmeg, stir well and remove the pan from the heat.
Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes before stirring in the cubes of cheese.
Preheat a fan oven to 180°C.
Remove the lined tin from the fridge and trim the excess pastry. Fill the lining/pastry case with the cooked vegetable mixture. Roll out the reserved smaller piece of pastry and use this to cover the top of the pie. Tuck all the extra edges inside the casing and crimp (pin with your fingers) the edges together to create a seal.
Put the tin onto a baking tray and place into the oven for 50 minutes.
After 50 minutes, leaving the oven on, gently take out the pie and remove from the tin. Put the pie back onto the baking tray. Brush with a little beaten egg and return it to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes, until a dark golden colour. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool before serving (or see instructions above to keep the pie for the following day).
