Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)
A traditional British recipe, this perfect Welsh rarebit is the ultimate quick and easy lunch – made with a gooey cheese sauce, and grilled to perfection on crispy bread.
If there was ever a recipe that wholly embodies the name of this website, ‘easy cheesy vegetarian’, it’s Welsh rarebit – and since I’m half Welsh, I thought it was fitting that I share this recipe. It’s such a simple one, but if you’re a fan of gooey cheese, it’s really rather spectacular, and makes a perfect easy lunch.
We Brits are known for our ‘does what it says on the tin’ kind of recipes, and cheese on toast is one of our best.
It’s cheese.
On toast.
You really don’t need a recipe for it.
But Welsh rarebit isn’t quite the same as a standard cheese on toast. It’s a little more interesting – and a lot more delicious – because it uses a gooey cheese sauce, rather than plain slices of cheese.
There are a million stories about how Welsh rarebit came about, where it got its bizarre name from (it’s also sometimes known as ‘Welsh rabbit’ – don’t worry, no rabbits were harmed in the making of this dish), and even whether it’s truly Welsh or not.
But wherever it came from, it’s an incredible dish that deserves to be shared.
Welsh rarebit begins with a super thick cheese sauce, smeared over a crispy piece of toast, and grilled until it’s golden brown on top.
It only takes a few minutes more than regular cheese on toast, and it’s totally worth the extra effort.
There are all sorts of different recipes for Welsh rarebit.
Some use beer, some don’t.
Some use real mustard, and others use mustard powder, or even no mustard at all.
Some recipes use Welsh cheese and others just use cheddar…
Nobody can really agree on just one Welsh rarebit recipe.
So this is just my version!
I begin with a really simple béchamel sauce (white sauce). You can find step-by-step instructions for how to make a white sauce here, but it’s essentially just flour cooked in butter, with some milk added.
You can swap a little of the milk out for some beer, if you want some real indulgence.
You need to make the sauce quite a bit thicker than you would if you were making, say, macaroni cheese – otherwise, it will all drip straight off the bread and you’ll end up with a big mess. A tasty mess, but a mess nonetheless.
Instead, the sauce should be thick and spreadable – more of a paste, really.
Of course, you can’t have Welsh rarebit without plenty of cheese.
Choose a good quality cheese with plenty of flavour. I went for an extra mature cheddar, but a Welsh cheese like Caerphilly would be fitting too!
I also added a dollop of mustard and plenty of black pepper.
Stir it well until the cheese has melted into the sauce and it’s all thick and gooey.
You can use any type of bread for Welsh rarebit, but I like to use something a bit more special than a mass-produced white loaf. This time I used some slices from a nice crusty bloomer loaf.
I like to pre-toast the bread, so it gets crispy on the underside. Then, spread the thick cheese sauce on top.
Pop the tray under the grill (broiler) for a few minutes until the cheese sauce is bubbly and hot, with crispy golden brown patches on top.
All that’s left to do is eat!
In my eyes, Welsh rarebit is definitely a lunch dish, so I don’t tend to do anything fancy with it.
Just a bit of salad on the side is perfect – perhaps some lettuce, tomatoes, or cucumber.
A lot of people splash their Welsh rarebit with a few drips of Worcestershire sauce just before serving. The issue is that Worcestershire sauce isn’t actually vegetarian – but Henderson’s relish is a good vegan substitute. It’s a pretty specialist ingredient, but you can find it online if needed (Amazon US* / Amazon UK*).
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 2 slices of Welsh rarebit.
* Note: This post contains some affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I will receive a small payment.
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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.
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.
There are three parts to this recipe:
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
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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Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
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.
I like to use a loose bottomed springform cake tin for homemade pies. It works really well because:
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
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.
Slice to serve.
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.
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!).
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.
The post Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.
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