Homity Pie

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •24cm loose-bottomed tart tin
• •Baking beans or dried pulses for blind baking
• •Wide, heavy-bottomed frying pan for the onions
• •Rolling pin

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pastry

   Rub the cold butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips until it looks like rough breadcrumbs. Some pieces of butter the size of small peas are fine, welcome even. They'll make the pastry short and flaky. Stir the egg yolk into the cold water and add it gradually, mixing with a knife until the dough just comes together. Don't overwork it. Gather into a flat disc, wrap in cling film, and rest in the fridge for at least thirty minutes. The pastry needs to relax. So do you.

   Cold hands, cold butter, cold water. If your kitchen is warm, chill the flour for twenty minutes first. Pastry rewards the patient and punishes the heavy-handed.
2. 2

   Soften the onions

   While the pastry rests, melt the butter with the oil in a wide pan over a low heat. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt. Stir them through, then leave them alone. This is a slow job, twenty minutes at least, stirring now and then. You want them soft, sweet, and pale gold, not brown. The smell will change as they cook: sharp at first, then mellow, then faintly sweet, like something good is beginning. When they're there, stir in the garlic and cook for another minute. Set aside.

3. 3

   Cook the potatoes

   Bring a pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the potato slices for five to six minutes, until they're tender but still holding their shape. You should be able to slide a knife through one without resistance, but it shouldn't crumble when you lift it. Drain gently and let them steam dry in the colander. Wet potatoes make a soggy filling, and a soggy filling is a disappointment nobody deserves.

4. 4

   Blind bake the case

   Set the oven to 190C/170C fan. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface and line a 24cm loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it into the edges without stretching. Leave a slight overhang. Prick the base with a fork, line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or dried pulses. Bake for fifteen minutes, remove the beans and parchment, then bake for another five minutes until the base looks dry and feels sandy to the touch. Trim the overhang with a sharp knife.

5. 5

   Assemble the pie

   Scatter the onions across the pastry base. Layer the potato slices over the top, overlapping them slightly and seasoning as you go with salt, pepper, and a grating of nutmeg. Tuck the chopped parsley between the layers. Pour the cream over slowly, letting it find its way down through the gaps. It won't cover everything, and it shouldn't. Scatter the grated Cheddar generously over the top. Don't be restrained with the cheese. This is a pie that depends on it.

   A mature, sharp Cheddar is what you want. Something with a proper bite to it that stands up against the sweetness of the onions and the cream. A mild cheese will vanish here.
6. 6

   Bake until golden

   Bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbling at the edges and the potatoes have taken on some colour where they poke through. The kitchen will smell of butter and cheese and warm pastry, which is to say it will smell exactly right. Let the pie rest in the tin for ten minutes before cutting. It needs a moment to settle, and so does the cook. Serve warm, not hot, with a green salad dressed simply in olive oil and lemon.

Chef Tips

• •Waxy potatoes are essential here. A floury potato will crumble and turn the filling to mush. Charlotte, Anya, or any salad-type potato will do. You want slices that hold their nerve in the oven.
• •Don't rush the onions. The temptation is to turn the heat up and get on with it, but slow-cooked onions and fast-cooked onions are two entirely different ingredients. Sweetness comes with time. There's no shortcut that doesn't cost you flavour.
• •A simple green salad is all this needs alongside it. Something with a bit of bite, watercress or rocket, dressed in good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. The sharpness cuts through the richness of the pie and makes you want the next forkful.
• •This is a forgiving pie. If your pastry tears, patch it. If your potato slices are uneven, it doesn't matter. It will taste the same. We're only making dinner.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry can be made a day ahead and kept wrapped in the fridge. Bring it to cool room temperature before rolling, or it will crack and fight you.
• •The onions can be cooked the morning you plan to bake, or even the night before. They keep well in the fridge and, if anything, taste a little sweeter for the wait.
• •The assembled pie reheats well the next day in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes. It won't be quite as crisp on top, but the flavour deepens overnight. Leftovers, cold, are not bad either, taken to work with an apple and eaten at a desk. I've done this more often than I should probably admit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 285g)