MRS LOCKWOOD’S RECIPES
LANCASHIRE CHEESE & ONION PIE
“There are some recipes which do not require improving. They require making properly.”
You Will Need
For the filling
- 2 oz butter
- 6 good onions, thinly sliced
- Salt
- A good pinch of black pepper
- ¼ pint pale ale
- 1½ lb crumbly Lancashire cheese
- 2 eggs
- 4–5 tablespoons thick cream
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon English mustard
For the pastry
- 1 lb plain flour
- 1 tablespoon English mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz butter
- Approximately 3 fl oz whole milk
To finish
- 1 egg, beaten with a little milk
Mrs Lockwood’s Method
Begin with the onions.
Melt the butter gently in a large pan, add the sliced onions and season with salt and black pepper. Cook over a low heat for about five minutes, stirring them regularly.
They are to soften.
They are not to burn.
Pour in the pale ale, raise the heat a little and continue cooking until the onions are completely tender and most of the liquid has cooked away.
This should take another eight minutes or thereabouts.
Remove from the heat and leave the onions to become completely cold.
MRS LOCKWOOD SAYS…
“Do not put hot onions into good Lancashire cheese. Patience costs considerably less than another pie.”
Once cold, put the onions into a large bowl.
Crumble in the Lancashire cheese, then add the eggs, cream, Worcestershire sauce and English mustard.
Mix everything thoroughly and put the filling aside while you make the pastry.
THE PASTRY
Sift the flour, mustard powder and salt together into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
Warm the butter and milk together in a saucepan until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot, but do not allow it to boil fiercely.
Pour this directly into the well in the flour.
Work everything together first with a wooden spoon and then, as soon as it is cool enough to handle, turn the dough onto a lightly floured board.
Knead for two or three minutes until smooth.
You must work while the pastry is still warm. Standing discussing it will achieve very little.
Divide the pastry into two pieces, making one slightly larger than the other.
Roll the larger piece and use it to line a well-greased deep pie tin, working the pastry carefully across the bottom and up the sides.
Spoon in the cheese and onion filling and spread it evenly.
Roll the remaining pastry for the lid and place it over the pie.
Trim the edges and pinch them firmly together.
And firmly means firmly.
Mrs Lockwood has no patience whatsoever for a pie which opens itself in the oven.
INTO THE OVEN
Brush the top generously with beaten egg and milk.
Cut three small openings through the pastry lid to allow the steam to escape.
Bake in a moderately hot oven at approximately 375°F / Gas Mark 5 for around 60–70 minutes, until the pastry is a deep glossy brown and the filling can be seen gently bubbling through the openings.
Remove from the oven and — difficult though this may be — do not cut it immediately.
Leave the pie until warm rather than piping hot. The filling will settle, the cheese will firm slightly and you’ll get a considerably better slice.
Serve in generous wedges.
Nothing elaborate is required alongside it.
MRS LOCKWOOD SAYS…
“LANCASHIRE CHEESE. LANCASHIRE ONIONS. A LITTLE ALE. THERE’S YOUR PIE.”
And if anybody asks whether Gruyère might improve it…
“No.”
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