an updated hippy era pie
Hello to all my new subscribers. There seems to have been a small surge, and welcome back to those who have been here a little longer. I still find it hard to believe sometimes that there are so many of you, the world over, who are happy to read about our small patch of Tasmania. While so many of you are sweltering at the moment, we are definitely in the midst of winter with icy, foggy mornings and days stuck in single-digit temperatures. Regardless of the weather in your part of the world, I think this recipe can transcend the seasons. Hearty winter fare or an ideal picnic dish.
Have a great week.
Julia x
I stopped eating meat in my mid-teens, which is an awfully long time ago! I don’t remember it being a particularly tough transition. There were things that I missed, a German lentil soup that my mother made with rings of the tastiest, juiciest mettwurst, a homely cottage pie or beef stroganoff. As a family, we didn’t really do meat and three veg, so while there were some adjustments to account for the lack of meat on my plate, it wasn’t especially noticeable. We hadn’t always had money to buy meat, so vegetable-based meals were common at home. That and my mother was born in Germany, so using lentils and pluses wasn’t as alien in our household as it was in many Australian homes. My mother was an adventurous cook and happy to experiment, so it wasn’t as if I sat down to a plate of steamed vegetables sans meat every evening.
At the time, vegetarianism was closely associated with hippies and alternative lifestyles, and the food centred around lentils, rice, and mushrooms, with quiche being the fallback meal whenever we went out to dinner, whether it was at someone’s house or a restaurant. A lot has changed since those days. I no longer call a restaurant before turning up to double-check that there is something on the menu I will eat. I assume that there will always be at least a couple of meat-free alternatives. There has been a realisation that vegetables can be the star, and that covering them in cheese and cream isn’t necessary to make them delicious. And as someone who passionately dislikes mushrooms, I’m very pleased that ‘meat for vegetarians’ is no longer the main go-to as a plant-based protein.
Hippy vegetarian food, centred not just around animal welfare but also about healthy eating. There was lots of wholemeal flour and brown rice, seemingly cooked without much thought to flavour or making it palatable. It was almost as if pleasurable eating was contrary to the principles of being a vegetarian. Dishes were often heavy and stodgy, and it really is little wonder that people were given the wrong impression about plant-based eating. When I think of vegetarian food today, it’s lighter, more colourful, filled with variety, and most importantly, packed with flavour from influences the world over.
There are few dishes from the era of hippy vegetarianism that are still in my repertoire of things I cook. Homity Pie1 is one of them, albeit tweaked over the years. This is an open pie of British origin, sometimes known as a Devon Pie, filled with potatoes and leeks. Whilst its origins are unknown, it was thought to be popular during the Second World War with the Women’s Land Army, when rationing made ingredients scarce. It gained more mainstream popularity and became associated with vegetarian food during the 1960s, when it was served at a chain of English restaurants called Cranks. It is sturdy and hearty, making it great for a winter meal, served with a salad. These characteristics also make it ideal picnic fare during the warmer months.
Despite connotations of being uber healthy but somewhat unpalatable, I’m quite partial to wholemeal pastry. I like the nubbly texture and the nutty flavour, and in this version I’ve gone full hippy by adding toasted oats and also some everything bagel mix, which you can leave out completely or substitute with poppy and sesame seeds. And as a further throwback, I never recall my mother blind baking anything; this recipe doesn’t require it either.
The leeks in my garden aren’t huge, so I’ve used two smaller ones, and because they are young, it’s possible to use quite a lot of the green part of the stem. I’m always reluctant to throw away the green bits unless they are particularly old and tough. Try to use as much as you can. Floury potatoes are best for this pie. I used Kennebecs, but King Edwards are also good. I’ve also added silverbeet to the filling, which could be substituted with baby spinach, kale or other greens.
Homity Pie
Serves 6 - 8. You will need a deep 23 cm pie dish.
Pastry
65 g rolled oats (jumbo ones, not quick oats)
200 g wholemeal flour (wholemeal spelt flour is also good)
1 tablespoon everything bagel mix (optional, or substitute a mix of poppy and sesame seeds)
125 g cold salted butter, cubed (if you are using unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon of salt)
1 egg
I tablespoon cold water
Filling
20 g butter
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 small or 1 large leek, finely sliced
100 g silverbeet leaves, finely shredded (for an alternative, you can use kale, beetroot tops, collards or baby spinach)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
800 g floury potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
Several grinds of fresh black pepper
200 ml pouring cream
2 spring onions, finely sliced
125 g tasty cheddar, coarsely grated
Put the oats into a dry frying pan over a medium heat and cook until they are golden in colour and have a toasty aroma. Stir them regularly, particularly towards the end of the cooking time, as they will catch easily. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
Put the oats, flour and everything bagel mix, if using, into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until the oats have broken down a little. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs. Crack in the egg and whizz until the dough comes together. You may need to add a little cold water to bring it together. Just make sure to add just a little at a time.
Lightly flour the kitchen bench and roll out the pastry until it is about 3 mm thick. Use the rolling pin to lift it into the pie tin. Press the pastry in and trim the edge. refrigerate until the filling is ready.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan that has a lid. Add the onion and leek and cook on a low-medium heat for about 10 - 5 minutes, or until they have softened. While this is cooking, prepare the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into slices about 5mm thick and then into pieces about 1.5 - 2 cm square. They should resemble small tiles, although they definitely don’t need to be precise.
Add the silverbeet, or other greens, to the pan, unless you are using baby spinach, in which case it is best to add this at the end and just let it wilt quickly. Stir in the thyme and then add the potatoes to the pan, along with the salt and pepper. Mix well, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, by which time you should be able to pierce the potatoes with the tip of a knife. You want them to be mostly cooked but not falling apart. Pour in the cream and stir through the spring onions. Leave the filling to cool a little.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Remove the pie case from the fridge and spoon in the filling, pressing it down as you go. Spread the grated cheese evenly over the top of the pie and bake for about 45 minutes. The cheese should be golden and the filling bubbling. Take the pie out of the oven and leave it to sit for about 10-15 minutes before you cut it. Any leftovers will keep well and can be served heated up or at room temperature.
Homity Pie and Hunza Pie are two similar pies from this era. Hunza pie is filled with cooked rice, silverbeet, and a generous inclusion of cheese.
I also absolutely detest mushrooms and squeaked with joy when I read you do too. Nice to hear you can create great veggie food without them!
Well I was a genuine hippie, even living in the Haight Ashbury in San Francisco for a time and baking bread from the Tassajara Bread Book. But I have never heard of this pie, nor seen a recipe until you posted it. It sounds healthy and delicious.