Jono & Jules do food & wine

What can we tell you about this pie? Well first of all it doesn’t look remotely like the picture in the book and there were a few moments of panic when the cream started to run out the sides. Despite our wholly inadequate pastry skills and some last minute patching to stop the leaks, it tasted pretty good and didn’t look half as bad when it came out of the oven as it did going in. If you have a similar leak we advise remaining calm and sticking some pastry over the hole – pronto!

If you have trouble finding Beaufort,  Gruyere is a good substitute. Serve with a green salad.

Wine Suggestion:  an oaked white with a good freshness and texture is the best match for both the cheese and pastry. If you can find a white from Jura or Savoie you’re in for a treat but otherwise there are plenty of options. For something a little different we tried both the Sartarelli Balciana Verdicchio from the Marche in Italy and the Soalheiro Alvarinho Reserva from the Melgaço in Portugal and had a great match with both.

Potato pie with Beaufort cheese – serves 4 

• 500g medium-sized waxy potatoes – we used Charlotte
• 100ml double cream
• 2 cloves of garlic, lightly bruised
• 25g-30g butter
• 375g ready-made puff pastry in 2 sheets
• 75g Beaufort cheese, very thinly sliced (a vegetable peeler works well)
• ½ tsp thyme leaves
• 1 egg beaten, to glaze

Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6.

Steam the potatoes until tender, then cool and peel. Slice moderately thickly and set aside.

Put the cream into a small saucepan with the garlic and bring to the boil, then take off the heat, cover and leave to infuse.

Lightly smear a baking sheet with some of the butter. Roll out 1 pastry sheet thinly (about 2-3mm) and lay onto the baking sheet. Mark a circle on the pastry about 20cm in diameter. Cover the circle with half of the potatoes, arranging in a slightly overlapping layer. Season with salt and pepper then cover with half the cheese and thyme leaves, adding a few flecks of butter. Repeat these layers, then brush the pastry edges with beaten egg.

Roll out the other sheet and place over the filling. Clamp down the edges with your fingers and either trim to a round or if it’s easier fold in the extra pastry to create a thicker edge.

Brush the pastry all over with the egg and decorate with a fork (the decorating was beyond us and may have caused the hole so skip this step if you like). Make a hole in the centre of the pie about 5mm in diameter. Remove the garlic from the cream, then slowly pour into the pie using a small funnel. Do this slowly and allow the cream to settle before adding more. Stop when no more will fit – you might have a bit left over.

Put the pie into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4. Continue to bake for a further 20 minutes – cover loosely with foil if the pastry browns too quickly.

Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving in wedges with some dressed salad leaves.

(Original recipe from The Vegetarian Option by Simon Hopkinson, Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2012.)