Pies pies pies!

On a Sunday I often hanker for something really English and old-fashioned, like my gran used to make. Something wholesome with cabbage and potatoes. It's not fancy, it's not trendy, but what can be more English than a pie?

This savoury pie uses a quick and easy pastry that takes me right back to my childhood: suet crust. It's quick enough to have it ready on the table in under an hour. There's no messy rubbing in, just mix it up, roll out and go. Today I'll show you two great pie fillings: Quorn Chicken and Mushroom Pie and a Fake Duck and Ale Pie.

For my meat-eating readers, these recipes work great with meat too!

Suet Crust Pastry

This makes just the right quantity for my 8-inch pie tin.

• 200g self raising flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 100g vegetable suet
• or: 50g vegetable suet, 50g frozen butter, grated
• 5-6 tbsps very cold water

1. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl. Tip the suet into the flour and stir. If using butter, freeze your block of butter and grate it straight into the dry flour.
2. Spoon 5 tbsps cold water into the mixture and mix with a fork until it forms into a uniform lump. Add another tbsp if it's still dry.
3. Remove from the ball and gently form it into a smooth ball, making sure all the flour is incorporated.
4. You can use it straight away, or wrap and leave for ten minutes in the fridge while you work on the pie filling.

Quorn Chicken and Mushroom Pie Filling

For chicken-type recipes I often use my fingers to shred up a Quorn roast, it's more chunky and substantial than fillets or pieces, and also slightly cheaper by weight. The tarragon and yoghurt make this tasty and tangy so it's good eaten cold as well as hot.

• 200 g Quorn (roughly shredded Quorn Roast, chopped fillets)
• 250 g mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large celery stick, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp dried tarragon (or a few chopped fresh leaves)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• Slosh of white vermouth or white wine (roughly a small glass)
• 1 tsp Swiss Marigold stock powder
• 4 heaped tbsp thick set yoghurt

1. Heat the oil in a pan on a medium heat. Gently fry the onion and celery til the onion loses its pungency
2. Add the mushrooms and stir until they're slightly browned and start releasing their juices.
3. Add the crushed garlic and stir for a minute.
4. Sprinkle in the stock powder and tarragon, then pour in the wine. 
5. Stir thoroughly to deglaze the pan and let it reduce for a few minutes.
6. Take off the heat and leave to a little, then stir in the yoghurt.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Taste the mixture - if your yoghurt is particularly sour it might need a sprinkling of sugar just to balance the flavour.

Variation

Tarragon adds an original note to this pie, it's a classic combination with chicken type recipes. If you're not keen on tarragon, thyme is also great; lemon thyme is even better if you can get it.

For more luxury use double cream instead of yoghurt! For a more saucey pie make a small amount of white sauce. This is great but just takes more time, I'm all for quick and simple recipes but sometimes it's worth it.

Fake Duck and Ale Pie

There are all kinds of beefy meat alternatives available but since I discovered mock duck in a can in my local Asian supermarket, I absolutely love it. It's made with seitan, a surprisingly savoury and meaty form of wheat gluten.

• 1 can of mock duck (approx 250g shredded seitan)
• 200g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large stick celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 heaped tsp Marmite (optional)
• ½ pint dark brown ale
• 1 tsp plain flour

1. If using canned seitan, drain off the liquid and dry the seitan on a tea towel. If it's in large pieces, shred it with your fingers into bite-sized chunks.
2. Dice the onion, carrot and celery.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan on a moderate to high heat and fry the seitan until it starts to brown.
4. Add the vegetables and cook off the onions til slightly translucent.
5. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.
6. Sprinkle in the flour and stir til everything is coat, then add the brown ale and spoonful of Marmite.
7. Mix thoroughly and reduce on a gentle heat until the sauce becomes thick and savoury.
8. Season with salt and pepper. If the beer and Marmite leave it tasting a little bit sharp, soften with half a tsp of sugar.

Variations

Use whatever kind of ale you like, but the darker and richer the ale, the tastier the pie will be. I didn't use herbs this time but thyme is a good addition.

Filling and baking your pie

I generally use an 8" loose-bottomed sandwich tin for my pies.

1. Preheat your oven to 200C and leave your pie filling to cool.
2. Retrieve your pastry from the fridge and cut off roughly a third of it to save for the top.
3. Sprinkle flour on your surface and roll out the pastry into a circle wide enough to cover the bottom and sides of your tin, plus a little bit more.
4. When rolled out, sprinkle with flour. Gently fold the pastry in half, then fold it in half again into a pie-wedge shape.
5. Centre the point of your pie wedge in the middle of your tin, unfold it, then unfold it again. I find this the best way of getting pastry into a tin.
6. Gently press the pastry into the corners of the tin. Using a spare lump of pastry helps with this.
7. Roll out the remainder of the pastry for the top, roughly an 8-9" circle.
8. Spoon your cooled filling into the pie and press down so it has an even surface.
9. Roll up the pastry top onto your rolling pin, then unroll it onto the top of the pie.
10. Press the pastry lid down onto the pie. I usually crimp it by pressing my thumb into the pastry but use whatever style you prefer, my gran used a fork!
11. With a sharp knife, trim off the excess pastry. I do this at a 45 degree angle but the pastry doesn't shrink much so this is mainly cosmetic.
12. For a shiny finish glaze the top with beaten egg. Pastry trimmings make a nice decoration too.
13. Cut a hole or cross in the middle to allow steam to escape.
14. Pop into the middle of your hot oven and bake at 200C for 30 minutes, until well browned.

Eat and enjoy!