Marcus Wareing has taken the classic English cheese and potato pie and adjusted it slightly using Tunworth. This recipe is pure comfort food. This recipe is from Marcus’ Kitchen by Marcus Wareing (Harper Collins £22).
Have you seen our seriously indulgent dauphinois potato and leek pie?
Ingredients
- 6 large floury potatoes (about 1.3kg), peeled and cut into 1.5cm-thick slices
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 200g shallots, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 250g tunworth cheese, cubed
- ½ tsp salt
- 75ml whole milk
- 300ml whipping cream
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
- Sea salt flakes to garnish
For the shortcrust pastry
- 235g plain flour, plus extra to dust
- 125g cold unsalted butter, diced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large free-range egg, plus
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
You’ll also need
- 20-24cm pie dish or tart/cake tin (not a loose-bottomed one)
Method
- To make the pastry, rub the flour, butter and salt together in a mixing bowl with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. (Alternatively, whizz briefly in a food processor.) Stir in the whole egg and 1 of the yolks and mix to form a soft dough. Shape into a ball, then flatten slightly into a disc. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Dust a work surface lightly with flour, unwrap the pastry and roll it out into a 4 5mm thick circle slightly larger than the dish/tin. Transfer it to a tray and chill to rest again. The resting is important, as the pastry will relax and shrink back to its natural size.
- Put the sliced potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water and add a pinch of salt, then bring to the boil over a medium heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes or until a knife can go through the slices but they’re still firm. Carefully drain the potatoes in a colander and allow to steam until really dry – any excess water will dilute the sauce.
- Heat the oil in a separate frying pan over a low heat, add the shallots and garlic and fry for 8-10 minutes until translucent. Add the cubed cheese and salt, then cook over a low heat for a further 10 minutes until the cheese melts completely. Keep stirring the mixture to avoid it sticking to the pan.
- Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, heat the milk, cream and thyme until simmering (not boiling). Pour over the melted cheese mixture and stir until fully incorporated – it should resemble a rich cheese sauce. If the sauce is thin, simmer it for 2-3 minutes to thicken it.
- Heat the oven to 170°C fan/ gas 5. Put a layer of sliced potatoes in the baking dish/tin and season, then add a generous layer of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layers using the rest of the cheese and potatoes. Brush the edge of the dish with a little of the remaining egg yolk. Remove the rolled-out pastry from the fridge and lay it on top of the dish, allowing it to hang over the top. Neaten the edges, leaving a slight overhang as it will shrink a little as it cooks, then glaze the pastry with the remaining egg yolk and sprinkle over the thyme leaves.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve immediately with a crisp green salad.
Nutrition
- 898kcals Calories
- 56.4g (32.1g saturated) Fat
- 20.1g Protein
- 74.1g (5.1g sugars) Carbs
- 6.9g Fibre
- 1.3g Salt
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