WILLY'S PIES x THE LATE PLATE

the only pie to add to your winter survival kit

Every once in a while someone comes along and adds a new exciting addition to the food scene in London. During lockdown we saw more new ventures than ever popping up all over the city, often times the result of chefs who no longer had a restaurant to go to and a lot of spare time on their hands. Will Lewis was one such chef, having formerly worked at St Johns, Rochelle Canteen and Brat. Will started making pies from his house during lockdown with friends and what started as a small home venture quickly become the most sort after delivery in the city. Willy’s Pies has gone from strength to strength, garnering support from the likes of Ian Wright, who is now an investor, becoming the official pie supplier of Arsenal Football Club and rolling out pies to Ocado customers across the UK. It’s been a wild journey for the boys.

I was one of many hungry Londoners trying to get my hands on a pie back in the dark days of 2020, since following them to their stall in Netil Market (sadly no longer there) and recently managing to snag a taster of their Ocado offering. I’m endlessly impressed with how far Willy’s Pies have come and deeply respect the values at the heart of what they do, delicious pies, made with good ingredients, whilst remaining affordable. So naturally, when Will suggested we make a pie together, I jumped at the chance. We spent a fun morning together in the warehouse, cooking, getting to know each other and trading stories of our kitchen days.

I’m really proud of the pie we made together, it’s deeply savoury, warming and hearty - everything I am looking for in January. There is something so simple, pure and honest about a pie, which I can’t help but romanticise, and leaves me satisfied beyond measure.

I hope you all enjoy this pie as much as well did.

Sending love, Rosie x

POTATO, CELERIAC & SPENWOOD PIE

This pie is really made by the pastry, if you’ve never made a suet pastry before then it’s a bit of an adjustment to a traditional shortcrust, whereby you need to rub all of the suet in, rather than leaving big flakes of fat as you might do with a butter pastry. What this yields is a very stable, firm pastry that holds in all the filling, giving you a crisp golden brown pastry case all the way around. You can find suet in all major supermarkets, here I have used the veggie version but you could easily use beef suet if you eat meat. The cheese can be any flavoursome hard cheese, Spenwood works perfectly here but I think Comté would be a great alternative if you can’t find it. Make sure you butter your cabbage liberally and the mustard is a non negotiable.

For the pastry: 

480g self raising flour 

1tsp sea salt

200g vegetable suet 

250ml whole milk 

For the filling: 

850ml whole milk 

2 x bay leaves

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

0.5tsp grated nutmeg

1 tsp sea salt

0.5 tsp black pepper

2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced into rounds 0.5cm thick 

1 celeriac, peeled and sliced into pieces 0.5cm thick 

30g butter

30g plain flour 

300g Spenwood cheese, grated (can be substituted with Comté or cheddar)

For the caramelised onions:

1 tbsp butter

3 medium onions, finely sliced

4 cloves of garlic, finely grated

1 tsp sea salt  

To make the pastry:

1. In a mixing bowl break down the suet with the flour and salt using your fingers, really rub it in, getting rid of any hard lumps of suet.

2. Gradually add the milk working it into your flour mix until a dough is formed. If the dough is too dry add a splash more milk.

3. Knead on a floured surface for 2-3 minutes, you are looking for a nice dry pastry.

4. Divide into two discs, one a little bigger to become the lining and the other, a little smaller, to become the lid.

For the filling: 

1. Preheat the oven to 180c.

2. Heat the milk, bay, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan until just simmering.

3. Add the potato and celeriac and poach until tender, around 30 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, caramelise the onions by melting the butter in a large frying pan and cooking down the onions, garlic and salt until jammy, sweet and amber brown. 

5. Remove the vegetables from the milk and set aside to cool. Keep the milk on a low heat.

6. In a new saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter and adding the plain flour, mixing until a smooth paste forms and cooking out for 2-3 minutes until light brown in colour. 

7. Ladly the warm milk in gradually, stirring with a balloon whisk to ensure the sauce is smooth, until you have added all the milk. 

8. Cook out the bechamel until thickened, stirring all the time, this should take around 10 minutes. 

9. Stirring in the grated cheese, season with salt and pepper and perhaps more nutmeg to taste. 

10. Liberally butter your pie tin to stop the pastry from sticking.

11. Roll out both pastry discs to around a pound coin thickness and use the larger to line your pie tin. 

12. Stir the cooked veg and the caralemised onions through the bechamel sauce and then pour the whole mixture into your pastry case.

13. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry and top the pie.

14. Seal the edges by pinching the two discs of pastry together.

15. Egg wash all the visible pastry and with a sharp knife, pierce a hole in the lid for steam to escape through.

16. Bake in the centre of your oven for 45 minutes. 

17. Serve with buttered cabbage and a dollop of wholegrain mustard.