Cheese & Potato Pie

The rich pastry in this cheese pie is very tender and almost melts into the filling beneath. Serve hot or cold with bacon or sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, baked beans, some steamed greens or a big bowl of salad. This pie can be made in the morning and left covered in the fridge until the evening for a family dinner. You may add onions and any herbs you like. It’s also very easy to make!

Ingredients

2lb 4oz potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

3 garlic gloves, crushed

2 cups (16 oz) milk

3 tbsp creme fraiche

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley or sage leaves

13 oz mature cheddar, grated

8 oz Camembert cheese

2 x 500g blocks puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Step 2

Finely slice the potatoes, and then add to a pan with the milk, crushed garlic and nutmeg. Bring to the boil and cook the potatoes for roughly 2 mins until just starting to soften but still holding their shape. Drain off the potatoes and garlic and in a bowl add them to the creme fraiche, mustard and some seasoning.

Step 3

Add the fresh parsley and sage; take 3 sage leaves and lay them on top of each other, then roll them up long ways in a spiral, holding this in one hand slice strips with your knife. Repeat with all the leaves and then add to your potatoes. Allow the potatoes to cool.

Step 4

Take one block of puff pastry and roll this out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper, do the same with the second but ensure that this block is slightly larger. Refrigerate these for 10 minutes.

Step 5

Assemble your pie: take the small sheet of pastry and place onto a large baking sheet, with the paper underneath. Pile 2/3 of the potatoes in a circle in the middle of the pastry. Place the cheddar and camembert cheese in the middle of the potatoes. Cover the cheese with the remaining potatoes. Use the egg wash to brush a circle around the edge of your ring of potatoes.

Step 6

Take the second, larger sheet of pastry and using the greaseproof paper, drape this over the potatoes and cheese. Make sure there are no air pockets or creases in the pastry and then smooth down the sides and press to seal with the egg washed pastry below.

Step 7

Using a sharp knife cut the excess pastry in a circle leaving a 2 cm border. Use a fork to seal the edges. Then using the back of a sharp knife create a spiral pattern in the top of the dome. Egg wash all over.

Step 8

Place in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden. Check for tenderness by putting the point of a sharp knife right into the pie. The potatoes should be quite soft. Serve hot or cold.

Bon Appetit!