Preparation time 1 hour plus chilling
Serves 6-8
For the flaky pastry
For the cheese, leek and potato pie filling
* For a vegetarian pastry you can use all butter, but it won't be as flaky
** Or vegetarian alternative Italian hard cheese
The base can be made and left in the pie dish up to a day ahead. Top with the pastry up to 6 hours before cooking. The pastry can be prepared ahead and chilled in the fridge overnight.
Both the pastry and the pie freeze well uncooked.
Wrap the butter and lard blocks in kitchen paper and use this to hold the fat while grating.
The filling needs to cool down completely as any residual heat will start melting the pastry and cause it to sink when baking in the oven.
Adding a strip of pastry to the edge of the pie dish helps raise the pastry a little and prevents it from going soggy during cooking.
Don’t re-knead the trimmings – lay them on top of each other and then roll, as this keeps the layers in the pastry intact.
Want to discover more great cooking ideas? Be sure to try out our other Mary Berry recipes, including her famous fruit scones, her potato gratin and her classic game pie recipe.
This recipe is extracted from Mary Berry Everyday, BBC Books, RRP £26.00.
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