One thing I really love is a good potato pie. Made with creamy mash, loads of cheddar cheese and onions. Cheese and onion are perfect partners. Mix them into potato and you have a truly heavenly trinity of flavors. Truly.
I have made a mashed potato pie on here before and it is excellent. I would say it is my favorite. It differs quite a bit from this one which I found on a page called Krumpli. That is the one I am sharing here today. I was inspired by that one, but I did make a few changes which I felt made this recipe much easier to follow and which worked out much better.
I felt his cooking method was too floofy and complicated. Mine is much more direct and simpler. Simple food doesn't need to be complicated.
For instance, he boiled his potatoes in the skins and then peeled and mashed them. I was not a fan of that. He also boiled the onion whole and then cut it up afterward. Also, not a fan.
I guess potato pie is a dish which is very common and popular in the British West Midlands. It is often enjoyed with baked beans on the side. I have had it in the past with brown bread and pickled beetroot. I had never tried it with baked beans. I did today. They were good.
I love these old traditional recipes. They have a brilliant simplicity that brings a special sort of comfort and good eating to the table. Steeped in family history and sweet memories. You cannot beat them!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE POTATO, CHEESE & ONION PIE
Just a few simple ingredients. I love it when you can take simple things, put them together and come up with something spectacularly delicious!
- 1 pound (453g) all-purpose potatoes
- 1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 5 TBS (72g) butter plus more to butter the baking dish
- 1 1/2 TBS English mustard
- 1 1/2 cups (181g) grated sharp (strong) cheddar cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 TBS milk
- 1 tomato, sliced into1/4-inch-thick slices
- salt and black pepper to taste
You can use any potato which is good for mashing to make this casserole. What you do NOT want is a waxy potato, or a new potato. You want old, floury potatoes. They mash up nice and fluffy whereas new potatoes turn to glue when mashed.
Just use an ordinary cooking onion. Peel it and cut it into coarse chunks. It is going to be boiled with the potato, so you don't want the pieces to be too small.
I used salted butter.
English mustard really makes this dish. It is hot and sharp without a strong vinegar taste. Whatever you do DON'T use North American mustard. It is not the same. If you must substitute use Dijon. It won't give you as much of a kick but it will still be good.
I used a sharp cheddar cheese from Prince Edward Island. (Oh, how I miss the flavor of a beautifully aged British Cheddar.) Use a good, creamy, well flavored cheddar and make sure you grate it yourself.
HOW TO MAKE POTATO, CHEESE & ONION PIE
This really is not that difficult to make. I switched out the directions completely from the original recipe. I think my way is much better and much easier to follow. I can't be doing with peeling hot potatoes and mashing them. None of his way of doing it made sense. It was far too convoluted.
Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place them in a lightly salted saucepan of water, along with the onion, and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
Drain well in a fine sieve and then return to the pan. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a one liter/qt baking dish.
Mash the potatoes together with the onion until fairly smooth. Alternately you can put them through a potato ricer first.
Stir in the mustard, butter and almost all of the cheese, mixing everything well together. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
Beat the egg together with the milk and beat this into the potato mixture. Spread the potato mixture in the buttered baking dish, smoothing over the top.
Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over top evenly and top with the sliced tomatoes.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
Serve spooned onto plates along with some baked beans, pickled beats and buttered brown bread. Ketchup is optional.
This was surprisingly hearty. I enjoyed it as suggested, as a main along with some baked beans (Heinz in tomato sauce of course). I also added some pickled beetroot and buttered sour dough bread.
This was super delicious as a main dish. Rich, creamy, cheesy. It really went down a real treat. I really hope that you will be inspired to want to make it and that if you do, you enjoy it, either as a tasty vegetarian main, or satisfying side dish for the meat lovers in your life! You choose!
Is the potato your favorite vegetable? If so, you might also enjoy the following recipes which could double either as a main dish, or as a side.
POTATO & CHEESE PIE - This dish makes an excellent vegetarian main, or a side for those who eat meat. It is filled with lovely flavors and textures. This tasty one dish supper makes good use of leftover cooked potato. You can also cook potatoes fresh to use in it. You can leave it just as it is, with just the potatoes, onions and cheese. You can also amp it up a bit by adding some other vegetables to it. I like to add green beans. Simple and delicious.ENGLISH JACKET POTATOES - One thing they do better in the U.K. than they do anywhere else in the world is the Jacket Potato. (Baked Potato) They even have restaurants that serve just jacket potatoes with your choice of topping. A perfectly baked potato with a fluffy interior and crisp skin makes a beautiful canvas for just about anything you want to top it with.
Yield: 3 as a main, 4 as a sideAuthor: Marie Rayner
Potato, Cheese & Onion Pie
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 45 MinDelicious comforting food made from simple ingredients put together in the tastiest way possible.
Ingredients
- 1 pound (453g) all-purpose potatoes
- 1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 5 TBS (72g) butter plus more to butter the baking dish
- 1 1/2 TBS English mustard
- 1 1/2 cups (181g) grated sharp (strong) cheddar cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 TBS milk
- 1 tomato, sliced into1/4-inch-thick slices
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Place them in a lightly salted saucepan of water, along with the onion, and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
- Drain well in a fine sieve and then return to the pan. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a one liter/qt baking dish.
- Mash the potatoes together with the onion until fairly smooth. Alternately you can put them through a potato ricer first.
- Stir in the mustard, butter and almost all of the cheese, mixing everything well together. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Beat the egg together with the milk and beat this into the potato mixture. Spread the potato mixture in the buttered baking dish, smoothing over the top.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over top evenly and top with the sliced tomatoes.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
- Serve spooned onto plates along with some baked beans, pickled beats and buttered brown bread. Ketchup is optional.
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