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Homity Pie

Homity pie is a traditional British open vegetable pie. The pastry case contains a filling of potatoes and an onion and leek mixture, which is then covered with cheese.
There is little known on the exact history of the dish. It is sometimes called 'Devon Pie', deriving from the belief that it is an English country recipe originating from Devon. Its origins are also claimed to date back to the Women's Land Army of the Second World War and the restrictions imposed by wartime rationing.[2] What is known however is that the dish's mainstream popularity came from Cranks Vegetarian Restaurant, which opened in London in 1961, when vegetarianism gained support from the hippie subculture.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Mandy Rivers - South Your Mouth

Ingredients

  • 1 deep dish pie pastry
  • 6 cups diced potatoes
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 leeks chopped
  • 4-5 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tsp minced fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 8 oz Cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut into cubes (about ¾ inch). Boil in salted water for 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain, then set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 375℉. Pierce pit pastry on bottom, and along sides, with a fork several times to vent the crust.
  • Sauté onion and leeks in butter over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until slightly caramelized. Add garlic, then continue cooking for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Add thyme, salt, pepper, and cream to onions, then mix well. Add potatoes and HALF of the cheese, then gently fold until well combined.
  • Spoon mixture into pie pastry, ten top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375℉ for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is just starting to brown.
  • Let pie rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh thyme if desired.

Notes

  • I used Russet potatoes, which are starchy. If you use a waxy potato instead (like Yukon Gold or red), start with ½ cup of cream. Most of the recipes I looked at used less cream, but my Russets soaked it all up, so I kept adding until things didn't look dry.
  • I used a little over 2 lb of potatoes to get 6 cups of ¾-inch cubes.
  • To prepare leeks, cut the dark green ends off, and discard (or save for a home-made vegetarian stock). Use only the white and light green part (about where the leaves start veering off). Cut off the root as well (save it for vegetarian stock, too). Slice the trimmed leek in half length-wise. Turn both pieces cut-side down, then dice each into half-moon pieces. Add diced leeks to a bowl, then clean with cold water. Drain well.
    Two prepped and diced leeks yield about 2 cups diced pieces.
  • I used one Pillsbry refrigerated pie pastry crust in a 6-cup deep dish pie plate, but any prepared frozen deep dish pastry should work. The filling will not expand or fall out, so it's OK to mound it up a bit if necessary.
  • You can use dried thyme, but the fresh thyme really came through in this.