Beetroot Butter Pie

In one of my very early blog posts, I have a recipe for a traditional Lancashire Delicacy, this site is called Lancashire Food after all. I am talking about "Butter Pie" my most popular post by far, so in honour of the #thinkyouknowbeetroot challenge I have decided to "pimp" this most traditional of dishes. Beetroot is a traditional accompaniment to most meals which contain potato in Lancashire and is often served along side meat and potato pies and most famously with Lancashire Hotpot. The pie is a hearty meal which needs nothing with it other than maybe a cup of tea. I used Simon Hopkinson's "The Good Cook" pastry recipe from his Mum's Lancashire Cheese and onion pie as my base and went from there.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

• 60g Lard
• 60g Butter
• 200g Self raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 tbsp cold water
• Egg Wash

For the Pie filling

• 4 large potatoes peeled, cut into round approx thickness of a pound coin
• 1 large onion
• salt & pepper
• Butter ( it does contain butter!)
• 2-3 lightly pickled beetroot, cut to the same thickness as the potatoes

You will need an enamel pie dish, its not a proper pie unless cooked an enamel tin !

Method

Rub in your flour & salt with your fats until breadcrumb like or use a food processor like me. Slowly add the water, mixing until a soft dough is formed, pull the pastry all together to form a ball and allow to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, before rolling out to line your tin and to make a lid large enough to cover your pie.

Whilst the pastry is resting, parboil your potatoes and onion until soft, drain the onion and potato and place in the pastry case ensuring that you do this in two layers, inserting the beetroot in the middle, dot each layer with flakes of butter and season with salt and pepper. Once you have filled your pie then top with your pastry lid and crimp the sides, make a 2 small slits in the top ( 2 slits is traditional in my family) to allow steam to escape. Wash the top with egg and then bake in a preheated oven at 180c for approx 30 minutes, until golden and smelling delicious. Serve immediately.

This recipe is dedicated to all Lancashire expats where ever they may be in the world, a taste of home !