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Vegetarian Recipes

How to Dry Herbs

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This is the time of year I find myself drying herbs. In part, it’s because I tend to come across special, unusual varietals in the spring and late into summer – caraway thyme, pineapple sage, fresh coriander. Some will appear for a week or two, then aren’t seen again for another year. Other times, it is the herb flowers that get me – I like to use them throughout the year, and the one way to guarantee a supply is to dry them. It couldn’t be simpler, so I thought I’d share my method for those of you who may have missed it the last time I wrote about it.

Group Herbs into Small Bunches

I tend to group any herbs I’m going to dry into small bunches. Leaves are stripped from the bottom few inches of each stem, and a bit of twine secures each bundle. A push pin or strip of washi tape is typically enough to secure the herbs anywhere high and dry – walls, bookcases, fireplace mantles, cabinet knobs, and the like are all fair game around here.

A Pro-tip

Leave a few inches of extra string when you tie the herbs to dry them. The stems will become dehydrated, and lose a bit of volume. The extra string will allow you to re-tie the herbs more snuggly if needed without starting over. Kelly left a comment below that caught my attention, “I use rubber bands (recycled from foods like asparagus or carrots that come banded together) instead of twine. That was the rubber band contracts as the herbs dry and i don’t have to adjust the twine or clean herbs off the floor!” I haven’t tested it yet, but it sounds like a winner.

To dry chive flowers, you’ll want to trim them from their stems and place on a flat surface for a week or so. Toss every couple of days so that all sides are exposed to air.

How to Store Dried Herbs

Be sure your herbs are completely dried before transferring them to a sealed container. Any moisture can result in mold. Store in a cool dark place. Also, after a few days of drying, your herb bundles will contract a bit from dehydration. Per the tip above, you may need to tighten the twine a bit.

Let me know if you have favorite herbs I should try to seek out. I love the offbeat, slightly unexpected thymes, sages, and lavenders. I’m sure there there are others I should know about as well!

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Cheesy Vegetarian

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

If you’re not familiar with homity pie, let me introduce you:

Homity pie is a traditional British recipe, which is essentially a cheesy potato and leek pie. It’s just the sort of thing we Brits do perfectly – simple ingredients, combined to make incredible comfort food. Say what you like about British food, but it’s hard to argue with buttery sautéed leeks, cheesy crushed potatoes, and a flaky shortcrust pastry case.

A slice of homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie).

I’m not going to lie, this homity pie is a bit of a labour of love. It’s not a quick weeknight meal like most of my recipes – this cheesy pie is definitely one to save for a special occasion (it would be perfect for a vegetarian Christmas dinner!).

Since cooking this pie takes a bit of time and patience, don’t try to cook it against the clock. Give yourself plenty of leeway – perhaps an afternoon where you’ve not got much else on. That way, it doesn’t matter if the potatoes have to sit for a little while so you can finish cooking the leeks, or if the pastry case is ready to fill before the filling is actually cooked – you can just potter away at your own pace, and it can all be assembled when you’re ready.

Overhead shot of a cheesy pie with a slice pulled away.

⭐ What’s in Homity Pie?

There are three parts to this recipe:

  • garlicky sautéed leeks and onion
  • buttery crushed potatoes (with a cheesy topping)
  • a crispy pastry case

These 3 elements can all be prepared simultaneously, or one at a time, depending on how good you are at multitasking. I’ve written the recipe in 3 separate parts, but if the timings work out (or if you have someone else helping you in the kitchen), you can prepare them all at the same time.

Once all three parts of the recipe are ready, they can be assembled, and baked one last time to complete your cheesy homity pie.

And by the way, I am 100% not a pastry expert. You may think my homity pie looks decidedly… rustic. But I like it that way 😆 If I wanted it to look perfect, I’d have saved myself a couple of hours, and bought one in a shop.

Becca’s Top Tip

Any extra scraps of pastry can be baked on their own, and eaten spread with strawberry jam – my kids love it when I cook with pastry as they always get little jam tarts!

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🥗 Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for homity pie laid out with text overlay.
  • leek – It’s hard to get the scale from the picture, but the leek I used was absolutely enormous – a proper monster (probably as big as my forearm!). If your leeks are a more normal size, you’ll probably need at least two.
  • potatoes
  • shortcrust pastry – I used a ready-rolled sheet of shop-bought pastry, as making pastry is not my forte. Feel free to use homemade pastry if you prefer!
  • cheddar cheese – If possible, use freshly grated mature cheddar cheese rather than the pre-grated stuff, as it melts more nicely.
  • onion – I used red onion, but regular onions would also be good.
  • fresh parsley
  • egg
  • garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar because I hate chopping large amounts of fresh garlic.
  • curry powder (optional, but it does add a lovely hint of warmth)

Becca’s Top Tip

If you’re using shop-bought pastry, take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you need to use it. This helps it to soften a little, and means it’s less likely to crack as you unroll it.

📹 Recipe Video





🔪 Equipment

I like to use a loose bottomed springform cake tin for homemade pies. It works really well because:

  • The clip on the side and the loose bottom make it so easy to remove the pie from the tin once it’s finished baking.
  • It gives a nice tall pie, which looks great, and also gives a wonderfully thick layer of filling.
  • The metal heats up nicely and helps to crisp up the pastry.

You can use a shallower pie tin to make homity pie if that’s what you have, but I would always recommend a cake tin if you have one.

Here’s a similar one on Amazon, with great reviews:

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

I love using a loose-bottomed springform cake tin to make homemade pie. If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

$14.99

Buy on Amazon

A slice of homity pie with sautéed leeks, potatoes and cheese.

🖨 Printable Instructions

A slice of homity pie.

Print

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

How to make the classic British recipe homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie!) – a tasty vegetarian pie made with shortcrust pastry.
Course Main Course
Cuisine British, English
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 427kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 250 g (~ 9 oz) shortcrust pastry
  • 2 Tbsp flour (for dusting only)
  • 2 Tbsp butter, divided
  • 450 g (~ 1 lb) leeks, halved lengthwise then sliced
  • 1 onion (I used red onion), thinly sliced or diced
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon mild curry powder
  • 450 g (~ 1 lb) potatoes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Few sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 150 g (~ 5 oz) mature cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 1/2 cups when grated)

Instructions

Part 1: The pastry case

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F). Lightly grease an 8 inch springform cake tin. Dust the pastry and work surface with flour, and roll out the pastry until it measures around 12 x 12 inches (even if you’re using pre-rolled pastry, I find it helps to roll it a little thinner).

    Lay the pastry over the cake tin, and gently ease it into the corners, pressing gently (see the video below if you need more guidance). If you end up with any tears, just press the pastry back together. Trim off any extreme excess, but leave an inch or two extra around the edge of the tin, to allow it to shrink a little during baking. Prick the pastry a few times with a fork. Place the pastry case in the oven to blind bake for around 15 minutes.

    Uncooked shortcrust pastry draped over a cake tin.
  • When the pastry case is lightly golden brown, remove it from the oven. If the pastry has puffed up at all, just press it back down gently. When it is cool enough to touch, trim off any excess pastry by running a knife around the top edge of the cake tin.
    A cake tin lined with trimmed, cooked pastry.

Part 2: The garlicky leeks

  • To make the leek mixture, melt 1 Tbsp butter in a large frying pan, and add the sliced leeks and red onion. Cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until softened and just starting to brown. Add the minced garlic and curry powder, and cook for a couple more minutes. Set aside to cool for at least 5-10 minutes.
    Sautéed leeks and red onion in a frying pan.
  • When the leek mixture has cooled a little, add the chopped parsley and the egg, and thoroughly mix it in.
    Sautéed leeks and red onion in a frying pan.

Part 3: The buttery potato topping

  • To make the potato topping, cut the potatoes into chunks, and boil them for around 10-15 minutes, until just softened.
    Pieces of potato cooking in a pan of water.
  • Drain the potatoes, and add a Tbsp butter and a little salt. Use a fork to coarsely crush them – don’t make mashed potato, just break down any large chunks.
    Roughly crushed boiled potatoes in a saucepan.

Part 4: Assemble

  • Transfer the leek mixture to the blind baked pastry case, and spread it around into an even layer.
    A pastry case filled with sautéed leeks and red onion.
  • Add the smashed potatoes on top, and distribute them evenly.
    A pastry case topped with crushed potatoes.
  • Finish the pie with a generous amount of grated cheddar cheese.
    A pastry case topped with grated cheese.
  • Bake in the oven for around 30-40 more minutes, until the cheese is golden. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
    A cheesy pie in a cake tin.
  • Run a knife around the edge of the pastry to ensure it is loosened from the tin, then undo the clip. I like to take the pie out of the cake tin by placing it onto an upturned mug or bowl – the tin will slide downwards and the pie will rise out of the top. Alternatively, you can tip the pie out upside down onto your hand or a plate, then turn it the right way up again.

    Slice to serve.

    A cheesy potato and leek pie with a slice removed.

Video





Notes

The three parts of this recipe can be prepared one at a time. Or, if you’re good at multitasking, they can all be prepared simultaneously to save time.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 427kcal | Carbohydrates: 42.9g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 23.9g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 408mg | Potassium: 520mg | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 4.8g | Calcium: 245mg | Iron: 3mg

💭 Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare this pie in advance?

Yes! The pie is best eaten fresh from the oven. However, if you need to prepare it in advance, it’s best to assemble everything, then keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to do the final bake just before serving.

How should I reheat any leftovers?

The most convenient method is to reheat any leftovers in the microwave – however, this does cause the pastry to lose its crispiness. Alternatively, you can reheat in the oven at about 180°C (Gas Mark 4 / 350°F), but it may dry out a little (make sure you’ve got some gravy to hand!).

How should I serve homity pie?

Homity pie is pretty versatile. It’s great simply served for lunch with some salad. Alternatively, it also makes a great vegetarian main course for a special occasion, e.g. Christmas or Thanksgiving.

🥧 Other Veggie Pie Recipes

Vegetarian Christmas Recipes
A slice of homity pie.

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

Mushroom pie with chestnuts and a suet crust.

Creamy Mushroom Pie with Chestnuts (and Easy Suet Crust)

A slice of smoked cheese and broccoli tart being cut on a board.

Smoked Cheese and Broccoli Tart

Vegetarian Lentil Sausage Rolls

Vegetarian Lentil Sausage Rolls

The post Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

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