Historical recipes to try this winter – Woolton Pie

With all the talk of the Winter of Discontent returning, we thought we’d give you some recipes from the past for you to enjoy over the next few months from similar bleak times.

Firstly, we’re heading to the 1940s for a WWII era vegetarian dish, Woolton Pie.

This pie was created during the war as a way of making a meal without meat and other key ingredients were rationed, it was initially baked at the Savoy Hotel in London and named for the then Minister of Food, Lord Wooton. Despite the rather prestigious kitchen it was created in, it wasn’t a particularly popular dish, but with the cost of living rising, it might make a comeback!

Ingredients:

For the filling -
500g potatoes
500g cauliflower
500g swede
500g carrot
4 spring onions
1 stock cube
1 tbsp rolled oats

For the pastry
150g flour
75g butter
8tbsp cold water

Method:

Start by making the pastry. Begin by putting the flour in a mixing bowl and cubing the butter. Add the butter to the bowl and begin to rub together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water and mix to make a doug

Put the pastry in a cold place for around half an hour.

Start on the filling, chop the vegetables, stock cube and oats into a saucepan and add a little water to stop it sticking. Cook for around 10 minutes and when cooked add to your pie dish. Once the pastry is chilled, roll out to a size big enough to cover the pie dish. Slit a hole in the top and crimp the ends to seal together and then bake at 180 degrees for around 40 minutes and serve.