Vegan British Homity Pie [1940s WW2 era inspired recipe]
Course: Dinner, pack-lunch, picnic, Snack
Cuisine: British
Prep Time: 40 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 20 minutesminutes
Baking pie: 30 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings: 6-8 slices [the pie is easier to slice into thinner portions once chilled]
Calories: 419kcal
Author: Jacq
This vegan homity pie is inspired by the British world war two era homity or Devon pie that was invented by the British land girls and earned its name for its homely, humble and tasty wholesomeness.This veggie pie is especially delicious and easier to slice once chilled so does make for the best vegan picnic pie, that is also great for quick and simple lunches and tasty pack-lunches.
140gramsvegan margarine[such as Stork baking spread] [use a little extra to grease the pie dish]
¼teaspoonsalt
Pie filling
1tablespoonolive oil[or vegan butter or any vegetable oil, or replace with ½ cup of veggie stock/broth]
250gramsonion[1 large sliced into thin long pieces]
4garlic cloves[fine diced]
500gramspotatoes[chopped into 1-2 inch sized chunks and cooked until just soft then drained, leftover cooked potatoes are perfect]
250gramsfrozen mixed veggies[cooked and drained, according to package instructions]
2teaspoondried thyme[or a few sprigs of fresh thyme: use the little leaves]
2teaspoonplain flour[or all-purpose flour]
200mililitresoat milk[or your usual milk]
Add after filling cooked:
50gramsvegan cheese[grated/shredded, or 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes]
Topping:
150gramstomatoes[2 salad tomatoes thin sliced]
60gramsvegan cheese[grated or replace with a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes]
Instructions
Prepare the pastry:
Add the plain and wholemeal flour to a mixing bowl. Tip in the baking powder and salt, stir to combine. There is no need to sift the flours.
150 grams plain flour, 150 grams wholemeal flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
Break the margarine into chunks and drop into the bowl. Using your fingertips rub the margarine into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
140 grams vegan margarine
Add 6 tablespoons of cold water and using a cutlery knife stir the water into the flour for 1-2 minutes until it begins to clump together. Press the mixture together against the side of the bowl and then bring it all together into a ball of dough.
If the dough is too dry work in a few drops of extra water until it comes together into a kneadable ball. If the dough is too wet sprinkle extra flour over.
Knead the dough for a few moments using the palms of your hands to press the dough together whilst you hold the dough ball.Place into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
[Meanwhile if you haven't already cooked your potatoes and vegetables then do so now and once cooked, drain and pop them into a mixing bowl until required. If doing this step in advance, place the cooked potatoes and veggies into the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Leftover veggies and potatoes are ideal]
Prepare the pie filling:
Heat the oil in a non-stick fry pan or skillet. Alternatively if using ½ cup of veggie stock/broth then bring it to a gentle boil.
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add the sliced onions and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. If the onions gain some colour it doesn't matter. Tip in the garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes. Stir frequently and turn the heat to low if necessary. [If using veggie broth instead of oil add a little extra if required to prevent the onions from sticking or becoming too dry.]
250 grams onion, 4 garlic cloves
Next add the flour and dried or fresh thyme leaves. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
2 teaspoon plain flour, 2 teaspoon dried thyme
Slowly add the milk, stirring each time, and once all is added cook for an extra minute.
200 mililitres oat milk
Stir through the vegan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.
50 grams vegan cheese
Scoop the cooked onion mixture into the bowl that the potatoes and veggies are in. Stir well and season with extra salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 180 Fan / 200C / 400 Fahrenheit / Gas 6.
Grease your pie or flan dish with vegan margarine.
Place the chilled dough onto a floured board and roll it out into a shape that will fit your dish, the dough will be about ¼ inch thick. Roll enough so that it overlaps over the sides of the dish.
Whilst rolling if the pastry looks like it is cracking just press the sides of the rolled pastry in a little, and push the cracks together using your fingers on the surface of the pastry, and it will be fine. Turn the pastry around a few times as you roll to ensure it is not sticking to the surface.
Using your rolling pin drape the pastry over it and carefully pick the rolling pin up and push the pie dish under the pastry. Drape the pastry into the dish and press it into the pie dish covering the rim as well so that the pastry hangs over the sides a little.Using a knife go around the edge to trim the excess pastry away. Patch up any broken bits of the pastry case with pieces of excess pastry.
[If your preparing the pastry and pie dish in advance then store the pastry lined dish in the refrigerator until ready to fill and bake.]
Scoop the pie filling into the pastry. [the pie filling does not have to be completely cool before it goes into the pastry but do let it cool a little so its not boiling hot going into the pastry.
Top the pie filling with sliced tomatoes [although if preferred omit these] and season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Next sprinkle the vegan cheese over the tomatoes.
150 grams tomatoes, 60 grams vegan cheese
Bake:
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pasty looks crisp and brown, and the topping is melted and golden.
Leave for a 5-10 minutes to settle before slicing. The pie will slice much easier into smaller pieces when chilled.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not an exact calculation as ingredients can vary.
Store leftover pie for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Or freeze for 3-4 months.
Use leftover potatoes and veggies for a quicker pie.
Unbaked pastry can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Leftover unbaked pastry can be used to prepare pastry breadsticks. See the recipe notes above the recipe for an easy method.
Or use the leftover pastry to prepare a few easy jam tarts.
Any variety of potatoes are fine for a homity pie. I used red skinned potatoes and only peeled any bad bits off, retaining most of the nutritious skin.
Stork baking spread was used for the pastry.
Violife smoked flavour block cheese was used for the recipe.
Enamel pie dishes are best for cooking pies as the material helps conduct the heat evenly whilst cooking the pastry, so use an enamel dish if possible. Although metal pie or flan dishes are also fine, as are glass pie and flan dishes.
For extra flavour additions to the pie filling have a look at the recipe notes above.
Just baked pies can be difficult to slice whilst very hot so do leave for 5-10 minutes before attempting to slice. A sharp cutting knife makes the job so much easier!
Once cool and chilled this homity pie is easy to slice into 8 pieces perfect for picnics and pack lunches.
As flavours intensify overnight, perhaps bake the pie one day in advance, remove from the dish once chilled and slice into portions. Enjoy reheated or chilled.
As we are a vegan family recipe blog we will always recommend plant-based and vegan-friendly ingredients, however if you have different dietary requirements feel free to use your usual ingredients.