Root, Herb, & Other Savoury Pies (1862)

Happy Pi Day!

I decided to revisit the savory vegetarian pie I tried back during the first Historical Food Fortnightly season. It was a touch bland then.

So, receipt #420 from The Principles and Practices of Vegetarian Cookery (1862): 2 pounds potatoes, 2 oz onion, 1 oz butter, 1 cup water, and a puff pastry crust. Of the suggested additional ingredients, I decided to add carrots (2 oz), celery (1 oz), and sage (1 Tbsp), along with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. I chopped the vegetables small and layered them in a pie tin edged with puff paste; sprinkled the seasoning on the penultimate layer of potatoes; poured on the water; dotted with butter; and then covered it with a puff paste crust (2 cups flour, 1 cup butter, some water).

Layering in the vegetables.

Unfortunately, I set the oven to 350F instead of a more pie-appropriate temperature, so it took over 2 hours of checking and fiddling with temperature settings to get the potatoes softened.

Pie!

The pie is tastier and more filling than I remember: it makes a tasty and satisfying meal. The flavors definitely work better with some salt and pepper. The sage isn't necessarily coming through, but I suspect it's contributing to the overall effect. With the changes, I think this is worth adding to my historic recipe rotation.