Recipe 4: Woolton Pie

Woolton pie was created by the head chef of the Savoy Hotel and named after the Minister of Food Lord Woolton. The dish was one of the many recipes recommend by the Ministry of Food to help people maintain a nutritional diet despite shortages with rationing. The pie was created with rationing in mind as it contained no meat. The dish was not very popular after the war and was quickly forgotten when conditions returned to normal.

Ingredients:
For the pie filling:
1lb (450g) of diced potatoes
1lb (450g) cauliflower
1lb (450g) swede
1lb (450g) carrots
3 or 4 spring onions or some sliced onion
1 teaspoonful of vegetable extract;
1 tablespoon of oatmeal
chopped parsley

For the pastry:
This pastry uses only flour and lard (no sugar or egg) for 6oz (170g) of pastry
4 oz (113.4g) of wholemeal flour
2 oz (56.7g) lard

Method:
For the pastry:
Place the flour into a bowl
Cut up the lard and rub into the flour with your fingertips until you have a breadcrumb like consistency
Add a tablespoon of water to make dough
Roll out very thinly


For the pie:
Dice up the vegetables
Place in a saucepan with just enough water to cover
Add the oatmeal and vegetable extract and stir
Cook for 10-15 minutes
Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking
Remove any excess water and allow to cool
Put the vegetables into a pie dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley
Cover with wholemeal pastry
Bake in a moderate oven until the pastry is nicely brown and serve hot

And here's Granny Doris making her Woolton Pie: