10 Perfectly Peculiar Pies for British Pie Week

Friday 10 March 2017
Post in collaboration with British Gas

A roundup of 10 Perfectly Peculiar Pie Recipes for British Pie Week, the nations Smartest Pie from GBBO's John Whaite and top energy saving cooking tips from British Gas.






6th to 12th March 2017 is British Pie Week. Time to say aye tae a pie! Although if truth be told I'd say aye pretty much any day of any week and pretty much any time of day. But what actually makes a pie a pie? This is a conundrum I encountered as soon as I started to write this post. Does a pastry lid count as a pie? Is a pastry lid enough, or does the filling need to be encased? What about potato topped pies. Is Shepherds Pie actually a pie?! Then it all starts to get a bit blurry around the edges and we veer into quiche and tart territory. Whatever the definition, it's clear to see that in Britain we simply can't get enough of pies whether they be at the football with Bovril or homemade Steak and Kidney. 



To celebrate British Pie Week, Great British Bake Off champion John Whaite has created the nation’s ‘Smartest Pie’. This masterpiece celebrates the UK's official top five favourite fillings and is baked using energy efficient tips, teaming up with British Gas to inspire households to renew their knowledge of home economics and be smarter with energy use in the kitchen. I'm guessing that they didn't ask many Scots about their favourite pie filling as alas there is no macaroni cheese and instead the favourite pie flavours are Steak, Vegetable, Chicken, Pork and Apple. Take a look at the video below to see his one off culinary delight cooked using energy-saving techniques.





Many more years ago than I would care to remember I studied Home Economics at school, although my particular course was called Food & Nutrition. I even got an A for my Higher! It would seem that the UK as a whole could be doing with a refresher on basic Home Economy skills as 58% admit to burning their bakes. Seems that Smart Home Economics is still important to avoid ruined pies and unexpected energy bills. 



Top Tips for Smart Pies from British Gas
  • Keep the oven door closed while baking. As tempting as it is to take a peek at your pie, opening the oven door causes the heat to drop and use extra energy to get back up to temperature. 
  • Turn the oven off 5-10 minutes before the pie is done. It will retain plenty of heat during this time and will continue to cook your pie to perfection. 
  • Keep the oven clean. Grease and little pieces of burnt food in the oven can absorb the heat and make the oven less efficient. Keeping the glass clear also gives you a sneak peek while baking. 
  • Bake in batches. Cooking a number of pies to cater to different family favourites? Try cooking them all in one go – an already heated oven will use less. 


Without further ado it's time for the round up of those 10 perfectly peculiar pies that I promised you at the start of the post. The pies below break the rules as to what a pie should be. But rules are made to be broken and if that includes bacon lattice topping, potato pie crust, leftovers, pies in Yorkshire puddings and kale and lemon pastry then I'm all for it! Who ate all the pies? Yup that would be me! 












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www.foodiequine.co.uk  A roundup of 10 Perfectly Peculiar Pie Recipes for British Pie Week

Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for British Gas. As always, all views expressed are my own. 
Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to continue to share my Edible Scottish Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to only ever bring you the cream of the crop.


20 comments

  1. The presentation on these pies is beautiful. I love the sound of the mushroom pie.

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    1. There are some really beauties aren't there? Far removed from a pie at the football!

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  2. I am one of the people who opens the oven and peeks at the pie before it is done - I just can't help it. I will do better British Gas and Foodie Quine:)

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    1. No peeking allowed!!! I have glass doors on both my ovens so it removes that temptation.

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  3. Claire, that's so funny. I wasn't feeling hungry but by the end of reading your post my stomach was literally GROWLING!!!
    I found the video interesting - I've thought about getting a pressure cooker to save energy but I remember hearing bad things about them exploding back in the day. I presume that is now a thing of the past so may look into getting one :)
    Jane x

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    1. I was TERRIFIED of my Mum's pressure cooker as a child but they are all the rage - an super safe these days. I recently tasted lamb cooked in one and it was totally melt in the mouth. Just not sure I can justify another kitchen gadget.

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  4. What a lovely selection of pies! I have a terrible habit of opening the oven door to peek, though you can't see through mine and my oven has a habit of burning everything you put in it around the edges no matter what heat it is on so I do need to keep a close eye on things!

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    1. Have you tried protecting the edges with tinfoil? That might work and stop the need for peeking!

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  5. Those breakfast pies...oh my word! A pie crust of bacon? I'm drooling over here! They all look great but those right there have made me weak in the knees!

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    1. Pies for breakfast is surely the best idea ever!

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  6. If I had to choose a favorite it would be that bacon topped one!!

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    1. Yup a woven bacon waffle topped pie is the stuff that dreams are made of

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  7. What a great pie round-up, these all look so delicious. These tips are so great, I feel so miserly as I already do some of them - I'm obsessive about the glass on my oven door being clean so I can peer in :-)

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    1. Miserly is good! You are just being economic with energy which is what it's all about.

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  8. Like Bintu, I'm a peeker! I try not to though. But I do batch cook while the oven is on. I rarely turn the oven on without doing something for several recipes/meals

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    1. I'll let you off with the peeking seeing as you batch cook ;-)

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  9. PS the pies look great. Really loving the look of the seafood and kale one - mmm!

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    1. Decorating pies is my favourite part - I have an embarrassingly large collection of cookie cutters!

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  10. This is one delicious looking roundup. I LOVEEE pies but I've never been good in making ones. Doh... All these pies look so sooo good. I would pay a good buck for that lamb pie right now!

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    1. Ready made shortcrust or puff pastry is my saviour when it comes to pies - and my collection of cookie cutters! Cute decoration makes anything else forgivable!

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