Savoury pie

For when you have a bit more time on your hands.

Do you remember the first Christmas in a Covid lockdown? I do. The borders were still closed and it was unclear when we could see family again. But we still wanted to do something festive. And that includes good food. Since then we make this savory pie more often.

The pie isn’t hard to make at all. It just needs a little more preparation because you make the dough yourself (not difficult: a mix of water, flour and egg!) and then the filling too. After the preparation, the pie has to be in the oven for 45 minutes, but you can use that time to do something else!

This dish is based on a recipe we found online, but slightly modified to make it simpler and less heavy (for example by using reduced fat soft cheese). The pie is also delicious for lunch the next day; just reheat it in the oven and enjoy.

Savoury pie

20 minutes preparation + 15 minutes cooking + 45 minutes in the oven — serves 4

Ingredients

Note you will also need a 20cm round tin to create this dish.

  • 600 grams potatoes
  • 2 leeks
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 200 grams spinach
  • 5 tablespoons reduced fat soft cheese
  • 150 grams (grated) cheese
  • 200 grams flour
  • teaspoon paprika powder
  • 0.5 teaspoon salt
  • 100 grams butter
  • 1 egg
  • Water
  • Oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Extra flour to support rolling out the dough

Preparation

  1. Cut the butter into small cubes.
  2. Beat the egg with a fork.
  3. Mix the flour, pieces of butter, paprika, and salt into a crumbly dough. The easiest is to do this in a food processor or with a hand mixer.
  4. Add the beaten egg and mix in until it becomes a dough. Add a splash of cold water.
  5. Sprinkle some flour on a clean countertop.
  6. Dust a rolling pin (or bottle if you don’t have a rolling pin) with some flour and roll the dough until it is wide enough to cover a c. 20cm (sponge/cake) tin.
  7. Line the tin with the dough. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the tin to take off the excess dough.
  8. Place the tin in the fridge.
  9. Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
  10. Wash the leek and cut into thin rings.
  11. Peel and press the garlic.
  12. Grate the cheese.

Preparing the pie filling

  1. Boil 1.5 liters of water in a kettle.
  2. Boil the potatoes in a pot with a pinch of salt in c. 5 minutes until just cooked. Drain and set aside.
  3. Heat some oil in a large pan. Once the pan is hot, add the leeks and saute the leeks for c. 8 minutes on medium heat until the leek is soft.
  4. Add the garlic and cook for another minute with the leek.
  5. Add the spinach to the leek, let it wilt and the water evaporate.
  6. Mix the soft cheese with the leek and spinach.

Bringing it all together

  1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
  2. Mix the potatoes with the leek mixture in a large pot (I use a large mixing bowl).
  3. Mix 110 grams of the grated cheese through the filling.
  4. Season the filling with salt and pepper. Note: you can add a lot of seasoning; I often add more pepper than salt because there is already enough salt in the cheese.
  5. Tip the filling into the cooled tin.
  6. Cover the top of the pie with the remaining grated cheese.
  7. Bake in the oven for c. 40-45 minutes.
  8. Let the pie cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy your meal!

Did you like this?

Leave a comment below if you made this recipe, and let me know what you think. Tips and feedback to improve the recipe are always welcome too!