Caerphilly does it. Make a Welsh pie for St David’s Day

St David’s Day is a feast day.  So we say, feast on pie.

The recipe below is from our cookbook A Pie for All Seasons and it’s brimming with delicious Caerphilly cheese and leeks.

As well as being completely delicious, there’s another good reason to have a go at making it this weekend; if you tweet or post a photo of your handywork @pieminister #StDavidsDay we might just send you a pair of pie feast vouchers to use in our restaurants.  This of course includes our Cardiff restaurant so watch this film for a taste of what we have instore for you.

Now back to our St David’s Day pie recipe….

Your shopping list

300g floury potatoes, peeled and diced

2 tbsp olive oil

25g butter

1 onion, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

2 leeks, white part only, chopped

A small bunch of thyme, leaves picked and chopped

A small bunch of rosemary, leaves picked and chopped

100ml white wine

300ml double cream

100g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

150g Caerphilly cheese, crumbled

Approx 330g all-butter shortcrust pastry*

*Buy some ready-made or make ½ quantity of the recipe on page 10 of A Pie for All Seasons.

 How to make your pie

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, then drain and set aside.

Heat the oil and butter in a pan, add the onion and celery and cook gently for about 5 minutes, until they start to turn translucent.  Stir in the leeks and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the herbs, followed by the white wine and simmer until the white wine has reduced by about half its volume.  Stir in the cream, bring back to a simmer and reduce that by half as well.  Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and leave to cool slightly.  Add the potatoes to the mixture, followed by the hazelnuts and cheese, reserving a few nuts and a small handful of cheese to decorate.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.  Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick.  Put the filling in a pie dish, brush the rim of the dish with a little beaten egg then lift up the pastry on the rolling pin and use to cover the pie.  Trim off the excess pastry, leaving a little overhanging at the sides, then tuck under to give a neat edge.  Press down all round the edge to seal.  Brush the pastry with beaten egg and make a hole in the centre.  Scatter over the reserved hazelnuts and cheese.  Bake for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus a Iechyd Da!