English Cheese Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Separate one egg. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg white; set aside. In another small bowl, combine egg and egg yolk; set aside., On a lightly floured surface, unroll pastry; cut in half. Roll out one half of pastry into an 8-in. circle. Transfer to a 7-in. pie plate; trim pastry even with edge. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon., In a large bowl, combine the cheeses, confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt and egg mixture. Pour into prepared pastry., Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry. Brush remaining egg white over pastry; sprinkle with remaining cinnamon., Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a pan on a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and fry over a medium/low heat for 10 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.
• Add the beef mince and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until brown.
• Add the tomato purée, worcestershire sauce and Tabasco, then stir and cook for 2 minutes.
• Turn the heat up to high and add the red wine. Let it bubble away and reduce for 5 minutes then add the stock and reduce to a medium heat. Simmer for a further 20 minutes, stirring often.
• Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into halves and quarters so they're all a fairly even size. Cook in a pan of boiling, salted water for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain in a colander and leave to steam dry.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
• Taste the mince and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Transfer it to an ovenproof dish (approximately 20cm by 30cm).
• Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper then spread over the top of the mince.
• Finely grate over a little parmesan cheese then cook for 45 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
• Serve with buttered peas or a simple side salad.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• To Make Meat Filling: Place a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in ground beef and saute 1 minute. Add onion and carrot, then continue to saute until meat is no longer pink and onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in flour, cinnamon, mixed herbs, and parsley.
• In a small bowl, combine beef broth and tomato paste. Mix together, then add to beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of liquid has been absorbed. Spoon mixture into a 9 inch pie plate.
• To Make Potato Topping: Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and place over high heat. Allow to come to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain.
• Mash potatoes until smooth, then add butter or margarine, followed by milk. Whip until fluffy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over beef filling. Sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned and cheese is bubbly.

Steps:

• CRUST: Sift together the flour, salt and sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
• Add the butter to the flour all at once.
• Mix together until well blended.
• Then add the shortening and continue to blend by cutting it into the flour mixture.
• The mixture will begin to look like crumbs or small pebbles.
• It will have the texture of oatmeal.
• Sprinkle the water over the dough, distributing it evenly throughout.
• The dough will be come sticky and cling together.
• Gather it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap.
• Chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• When the pastry has chilled, roll it out on a pastry board to a thickness of 1/8-inch.
• The easiest way is to roll the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper.
• Roll the dough up onto the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch pie tin.
• Gently press it into the tin without stretching it.
• Use the excess pastry to make flutes or cut away the excess with a sharp knife or scissors.
• Prick the bottom of the pastry shell thoroughly to prevent trapped air from bubbling the dough.
• Butter a sheet of aluminum foil and place the foil down into the shell.
• Weight it down with weights or beans to keep the crust from lifting up.
• Bake the crust for 7 to 10 minutes then remove the weight and the foil.
• Return the crust to the oven and continue baking for another 8 to 10 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
• If you have difficulty rolling out the dough, do not reroll it; just patch the tears or holes.
• Rerolling will make the pastry tough.
• FILLING: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Press the cottage cheese through a sieve.
• In a small saucepan, gently heat the cream and the sherry until steamy, do not allow it to scorch.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, rosewater, and the spices until frothy -- about 5 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the cottage cheese until it is smooth then add the egg mixture and blend well.
• Add the hot cream and sherry slowly to the cheese mixture and beat until well blended.
• Stir in the currants and pour the mixture into the prepared crust.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, then allow to cool.
• Chill and sprinkle with cinnamon.