Comfort food – St George’s Pie

Ufff, what can I say? I’m writing this from a very different world than the one we were in before. Pandemic. Lockdown. Quarantine. Social Distancing. All words that had very little meaning for us until just a couple of weeks ago.

But here we are, in our new reality with our new routines, most of which involve hours online, checking news, communicating with family and friends, watching movies and trying to get on with work. And of course, we are cooking.

And given that none of us wants nor should be making repeated journeys to the supermarket, I am posting this simple, satisfying recipe which lends itself entirely to improvisation. It’s also a very comforting dish – mashed potato and cheese – and let’s face it, we could all use some comfort right now.

I suppose you could call this a vegetable shepherds pie but we call it St. George’s. My mother used to make this on nights my Dad had to rush off to a weekly meeting in St George’s Hospital and hence the name. I’ve made it countless times over the years since – a go-to one pot meal which is always different but always works.

Although you can throw in almost any vegetable you have, fresh or frozen, just bear in mind the timing. Try to avoid overcooking vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower. Add vegetables according to how much time they need and leave them slightly al dente.

You will need an overproof casserole dish

St George’s Pie

Ingredients

• oil
• 1 onion
• A mixture of fresh chopped vegetables according to what you have
• 1/2 cup of vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup of grated cheese of whatever you have -e.g cheddar, parmesan, mozarella…
• 4 medium potatoes or mix of regular and sweet potato
• 2-3 tbs milk and a knob of butter
• 1 egg per person (optional)
• Salt and black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 350F/180C

If you have a cast iron pot you can make the whole thing in it and pop it into the oven to brown. Begin by frying the onion then gradually add the other vegetables according to desired cooking time. Season with salt and black pepper and add half a cup of stock.

Meanwhile boil the potatoes and mash them with some milk and butter, salt and black pepper.

When the vegetables are cooked – not overcooked – cover them with a thick layer of the mashed potato, the grated cheese and a few small knobs of butter. Pop it into the oven for 15 minutes, switching to the grill for the last five minutes to give some colour to the mashed potato.

When everything is ready, fry the eggs and serve with one per person.

I will try and post more of these type of recipes over the coming weeks – simple practical dishes that you don’t need special ingredients for. I’d also be happy to offer suggestions for what you can do with ingredients you have. Just leave a message below.

Meanwhile, most important….stay safe, stay well and remember, this too will pass.