Page 34 - Real Rochdale Issue 13 Spring 2022

CHEESE & ONION PIE

by Natasha Brown - owner of Brown’s Cakes

• 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

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 Assembling the pie
very time consuming) but supermarket-bought puff pastry works an absolute treat
and makes the whole recipe so easy. • Press the rolled pastry into the shallow dish and trim round the edges with
a knife.
I like to decorate pie tops as it makes them a bit more fun and is so easy to do.
• Wet the top edge of the pastry with a little milk or water then fill the dish with
When asked to write up this recipe for a spring menu, I instantly thought ‘Mother’s the cheese and onion mix.
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. • Cover the dish with the remaining pastry and trim.

Method • Pinch the edges of the pie together then use any left over bits of pastry to

decorate the pie top.
• Heat the oven to 180°C.
• Apply a thin covering of beaten egg (a pastry brush is best for this but if you don’t
• Grease a shallow dish with vegetable oil. 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
To make the filling in the oven.

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

• The pie is delicious hot but can also be eaten cold. I hope you enjoy it as much as
• Stir the ingredients together. Georgia does.