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Spring 2022Cheese & onion pie recipe

By Natasha Brown - owner of Brown’s Cakes

We make these pies as miniatures for the afternoon teas but every now and again I make a large one for tea at home.

My youngest daughter Georgia loves our cheese and onion pie; she thinks it’s the absolute best (she might be a bit biased).

You can make your own short pastry for these or even your own puff pastry (which is very time consuming) but supermarket-bought puff pastry works an absolute treat and makes the whole recipe so easy.

I like to decorate pie tops as it makes them a bit more fun and is so easy to do.

When asked to write up this recipe for a spring menu, I instantly thought ‘Mother’s Day’, so used cookie cutters to cut out MUM and a flower, but decoration really is personal and can be as plain or as creative as you like.

INGREDIENTS

25g butter 
1 large onion
400g mature grated cheddar
1 egg
50ml double cream
Pinch of salt and a good pinch of pepper
One pack of pre rolled puff pastry
Beaten egg to use as an egg wash

METHOD

  • Heat the oven to 180°C.
  • Grease a shallow dish with vegetable oil.

TO MAKE THE FILLING

  • Gently fry the onions in butter over a medium heat.
  • Once soft, add the onions to a bowl with the cheese, eggs, cream, salt and pepper.
  • Stir the ingredients together

ASSEMBLING THE PIE

  • Press the rolled pastry into the shallow dish and trim round the edges with a knife.
  • Wet the top edge of the pastry with a little milk or water then fill the dish with the cheese and onion mix.
  • Cover the dish with the remaining pastry and trim.
  • Pinch the edges of the pie together then use any left over bits of pastry to decorate the pie top.
  • Apply a thin covering of beaten egg (a pastry brush is best for this but if you don’t have one, use a clean paintbrush or your fingers) over the pastry. Make sure you poke a hole in the pastry or cut a slit in the top so that the pastry stays together in the oven.
  • Bake the pie in the centre of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. It is ready when the pastry is lightly brown on top.
  • The pie is delicious hot but can also be eaten cold. I hope you enjoy it as much as Georgia does.