All is not lost, we may be a tiny village but we still have a village pub, no one need starve, dehydrate, or go crazy with cabin fever!
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| Home Fires and Home Baking |
I decided to do a little baking, of course. Long-time readers know how much I love my old recipe books which are filled with even older recipes. The book behind the pie gives a recipe for Onion Pye and states that it is an old recipe from 159 years ago. The book was first published over a hundred years ago, so that makes the recipe at least 260 years old.
The original pye filling was simply sliced potatoes, onions and cooking apples arranged in layers and seasoned with butter, nutmeg, mace, salt and black pepper. I had some leftovers, including vegetarian meatballs and homemade cranberry sauce which I included in the layers.
I admit that I could have done better with the hot water crust pastry, but I was thrilled with the way it turned out. A pie big enough to feed the whole village, if necessary. I wish I had made pies like this years ago. I didn't realise that it was so easy to make hot water crust pastry.
This is how it cut, maybe not the prettiest pie in the world but it tastes wonderful. My husband was very impressed, nice to know that I can still surprise him after all these years!!
Mrs Arthur Webb, the author of the book wrote " Isn't it curious how English-speaking peoples love pies? Pies of every description - those made with fruit, others with meat or fish or eggs or rabbit, or - but anyway, pies."
Not sure about all English-speaking peoples, but we definitely like pies in this house.
Another one of my old books states: "It was a proud moment when the daughter of the house or perhaps one of the young servants raised her first pork pie." So true!
We don't often get much snow so of course we had to go outside to build a snowman and have a snowball fight or two. This pair of little yellowbellies (a nickname for people from Lincolnshire) soon had wonderfully rosy cheeks and a glow of happiness.
Stay safe and warm.
How did you get that pie to come out of the baking dish all in one piece? I'm not familiar with a hot water crust either. When I make chicken pot pie, there's only a crust on top and its quite gooey too so no chance of it standing on its own.
ReplyDeleteHello Marcia, The pastry is much stronger than normal - it is made with hot water and lard the fat. These days a vegetarian version is made using butter or vegetable fat. Most pastry requires light handling, whereas you knead and mould this pastry while it is hot! I moulded the pastry into a loose-bottomed spring-form cake tin, so it was easy to get it to release the pie. There are some beautiful special hinged tins for raised pies but the cake tin does the job. When I have the opportunity I will do a more comprehensive post about raised pies on my other blog, though it may be a week or two before I get around to it.
DeleteIt's ages since I did a hot water crust pie. I used to make a Raised Game Pie at Christmas, but haven't done so for years now. Yours is almost a Fidget Pie - just needs some meat.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I love old recipe books. I thought for a moment the book you had open was my favourite, Farmhouse Fare, but yours sounds even better! It turned our really well and will feed you all week by the look of things!!
I hope you aren't snowed in for too long.
I see what you mean about Fidget Pie! This recipe comes from Mrs Webb's Economical Cookery, so perhaps they were saving money by not using meat! The copy I have is very grubby, lots of finger marks, the end papers and fly leaves are filled with handwritten recipes as well, which makes it all the more interesting to me. These old books make great reading. I love all kinds of books; I don't spend a lot on them because I enjoy tracking down the bargains. Some would say that I have far too many, they could be right, but I do read them!
DeleteOh I bet, the village pub is wonderfully full of people, in such weather. It's human nature, to seek companionship of others, also stuck in bitter winter weather. Sounds delightful to me.
ReplyDeleteOh the "kid-lettes" must have had a wonderful time, making a snowman and throwing snow balls! Look at their faces! Delightful...
And also delightful is that Pie!!!!!! Mercy, how do you get it out "whole" like that???????
Hot water crust? I have always gone on the theory of the colder-the-better-cold-water, to mix a crust. But that doesn't hold true all the time, obviously.
Does this recipe use lard, or butter?
For years, I used "Fluffo" but now, knowing how they use chemicals, to make that stuff the right consistency.... I wanted to use lard, but could not find any. So I now use butter, and it is delicious.
Our village pub has a roaring log fire, excellent beer, and great food, it is very popular and there is always something fun happening. I'm sure you would love it!
DeleteNormal pastry requires very cold water and cool hands, this type of pastry is much more robust, you boil water and lard for several minutes, then mix and knead before moulding or rolling the case. It is traditionally made with lard but can be made with vegetable fat or butter.
We all had great fun playing in the snow - then we went indoors for hot chocolate with all the trimmings.
The pie sounds delish, Elaine. All ingredients I would like. And that is one handsome snow man the grands built. :)We have a great pub here, too, and it would be a magnet on those snowy, nights like you are having.
ReplyDeleteOur local tavern always has a warm welcome for all comers... The pie is proving very popular, I'll definitely be making more of them. I hope spring is finally arriving in your part of the world!
DeleteFunny I'm sure as a kid you never felt the cold, I used to spend hours playing in it coming home wet & frozen, not If I go out in it I am well wrapped up.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Bill!
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