Lord Woolton Pie

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Lord Woolton Pie – a delicious vegetable dish

Here is a very famous WWII 1940’s dish, Lord Woolton Pie..

WIKIPEDIA- Woolton pie, at first known as Lord Woolton pie,[1] was an adaptable dish of vegetables, created at the Savoy Hotel in London by its then Maitre Chef de Cuisine, Francis Latry.[2] It was one of a number of recipes commended to the British public by the Ministry of Food during the Second World War to enable a nutritional diet to be maintained despite shortages andrationing of many types of food, especially meat.

It was named after Frederick Marquis, 1st Lord Woolton (1883-1964), who became Minister of Food in 1940.

There are many adaptations of this recipe and I have made it a number of ways with pastry instead of potato or served with a thick brown gravy but today I made it ‘Savoy Hotel’ style with a special herb white sauce (although their potato piping would have been divine and mine was quickly squiggled on using a baggy with a hole in..)

I made a big double portion for myself and two single portions for the girls..

Lord Woolton Pie

  • Various in season veggies like swedes, turnips, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, onions, carrots
  • Potatoes for mashing
  • Flour, butter and milk for sauce
  • Strong grated cheddar cheese
  • Herbs such as sage or thyme for sauce

Method

  • Peel washed potatoes (save peelings to bake in oven with salt and herbs)
  • Dice potatoes and cook in salted water until soft
  • Mash with butter, a little milk and add salt
  • Peel, wash and dice in season veggies as applicable and boil until nearly cooked
  • Drain and place in pie dish
  • Make sauce-Use dessert spoon of butter and melt in pan, add two dessert spoons of flour and mix and slowly add in milk, keep stirring. Add salt and herbs and pepper
  • Pour thick sauce over the vegetables
  • Put mashed potato in piping bag (baggy with a hole in the corner)
  • Pipe over the top of veggies and sauce
  • Finish by placing some grated cheese over the top
  • Place in oven at 220 C for around 30 minutes until the potatoes have browned