Lancashire Cheese And Onion Pie Recipes

LANCASHIRE CHEESE AND ONION PLATE PIE

Steps:

• Peel 200g (7oz) potatoes and cut into 2cm (1in) cubes. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil. Salt the water and cook the potatoes gently for about 10 minutes or until there is no resistance when a sharp knife is inserted. Strain the potatoes and set aside to cool.
• Thinly slice 1-2 red onions. Place a knob of butter and 2 tsp of oil into the frying pan and set over a medium heat. Add the sliced onions to the frying pan. Reduce the heat and cook the onions slowly until translucent and soft about 15 minutes. Once cooked tip onto a sheet of kitchen roll to absorb the excess oil.
• Meanwhile, make the pastry. Place the 225g (8oz)flour, 50g (2oz) butter and 50g (2oz) lard or vegetable fat into bowl and rub in the fat with your finger tips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
• Make a well in the centre and add the water, a little at a time. Using a rounded pallet knife, or similar, cut through the mixture to make a dough. You may not need all of the water. Bring the dough together with your hands and shape into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in cling film and place into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
• Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6.
• Cut the pastry into two equal pieces and roll out one piece and use to line the base of the pie plate. Roll out the remaining pastry for the pie lid.
• Combine the cooked potatoes with the onions and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Grate 175g (6oz) Lancashire cheese and place half of the grated cheese into the pastry case. Add the potato and onion mixture. Top with the remaining cheese.
• Using a pastry brush, paint the edge of the pastry with a little milk. Use a rolling pin to lift the rolled out pastry and lay over the filled pie plate. gently press the edges together to seal and trim away the excess pastry. Brush the top with a little milk and cut a small slit in the middle to allow steam to escape.
• Bake the pie in the oven and bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the pastry is cooked through and a beautiful golden colour. You may need to rotate the pie halfway through the bake. Remove from the oven once cooked and allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into it and serving.

LANCASHIRE CHEESE-AND-ONION PIE

Steps:

• Combine the flour and a large pinch of salt in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons butter and the lard, and use your fingers to gently rub the fat into the flour until it has the texture of coarse bread crumbs.
• Mix in just enough ice water to bind the mixture, about 3 tablespoons, and lightly knead the dough until well combined and smooth. When you can mold the mixture into a ball, do so. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes -- or freeze for 10 -- to ease rolling.
• Heat the oven to 350. Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet over low heat. When the butter melts, add the onions, a pinch of salt and the ground white pepper; cook slowly for about 10 minutes, never browning.
• Turn the heat to medium and slowly pour in the water. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid cooks off, about 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and place them on a plate to cool
• Grease the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish and sprinkle a countertop with flour. Unwrap the dough and divide it into two balls, one twice as big as the other. Put them on the surface and sprinkle the tops with flour. Using light pressure, roll each one from the center outward, adding more flour as needed and turning them over once or twice during the process. When the larger ball is roughly 10 inches in diameter, gently move it into the pie dish and press it firmly into the bottom and sides. Prick it all over with a fork.
• Layer the onions and cheese on top of the dough in the dish, then carefully cover with the remaining dough -- it should be about 8 inches in diameter. Press the edges together, gently but firmly, and brush the top and edges with milk. Use a knife to make 3 small incisions in the top of the crust so steam can escape.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is nicely browned and the insides are bubbly, 45 minutes to an hour. Cool a bit before slicing into wedges and serving.

LANCASHIRE CHEESE AND ONION PIE

Steps:

• Finely chop the onions
• Melt butter in a pan
• Add chopped onions to the pan, stir to coat in butter, and turn the heat to low
• Cook onions in butter on low until they are clear but not colored; about 10 minutes
• Whilst the onions are cooking, grate your cheese coarsely. I often find Lancashire cheese so crumbly that it's easy to tear apart the cheese whilst gating to save some time
• Once the onions have turned clear, add 1/2 pint of water to the pan, and bring to a low simmer
• Simmer onion water mixture until the water reduces down to barely there
• Turn hob off and allow the onion mixture to cool slightly
• In a large bowl, combine the cooled onion mixture with the grated cheese - this is your completed filling
• Pre-heat your oven to 180C
• Butter your pie dish liberally
• Roll out your pastry to two large circles; one for the base and one for the top of the pie
• Line the base of the pie dish with one of the pastry circles, allowing some pastry to overhang the edges
• Spoon the filling in to the pie and smooth down so the base is evenly covered
• Add the second pastry circle to the top of the pie; covering completely
• Pinch the edges of the pastry to seal, and cut off access using a sharp knife
• Using a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg all over the top of the pie, and use knife to poke two holes in the top sheet of pastry
• Place the pie on a large baking tray (just encase any cheese oozes out)
• Place in the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown
• Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool. This is a pie which cannot be eaten immediately as the cheese will be very runny. Set pie aside for a minimum of 20 minutes.
• Serve with chips and tomato sauce - yum!