History Cookbook: Woolton Pie

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Here you can see a typical wartime kitchen; there are no fitted units, just shelves and cupboards.  The sink has a pump to provide water for the kitchen. The food preparation takes place on the central kitchen table, which is easily scrubbed clean after cooking.

This recipe, Woolton Pie,  is an excellent example of how people coped with rationing. Fats, such as butter and lard, were rationed, so everyone had to find ways to make these last. The government issued many recipes to show people how to make meals with very limited ingredients.
Potato pastry uses very little fat as the potato makes the pastry moist and crumbly. It was difficult to work with and turns grey if left too long when it's made. The pie contains seasonal vegetables; many of these would come from gardens or allotments because people grew as much food as they could. The government encouraged this with 'Dig for Victory' campaigns.

For pictures of the cooking process see our Woolton Pie Picture Gallery

With thanks to Sarah Gilkes (Warp and Weft) and Pam McMillan (Time Travelers) for their help with this podcast.

• 1lb swede
• 1lb carrot
• 1lb cauliflower
• 1lb spring onion
• 1lb potato
• 1 teaspoon of marmite or vegetable extract
• oatmeal

For the pastry:

• 6oz flour
• 1 ½ oz butter
• 1 ½ oz lard
• 2oz raw potatoes

• Mixing bowl
• Pie or casserole dish
• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Measuring scales
• Pan
• Grater
  

1. Remove the outer leaves from the cauliflower and dice into small pieces, add the chunks to the pan
2. Top tail and peel the carrots, dice into small chunks and add to the pan
3. Cut the swede in half, peel, dice into small chunks and add to the pan
4. Peel the potatoes, dice into small chunks and add to the pan
5. Top and tail the spring onions, chop into small pieces and add to the pan
6. Add a teaspoon of marmite or vegetable extract
7. Add a tablespoon of oatmeal
8. Cover the vegetables with water and place on the cooker to boil and soften
9. Put the flour in a mixing bowl
10. Add the butter and lard
11. Rub the fat into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs
12. Grate 2oz of raw potatoes and add these to the mixing bowl
13. Add a little water and work into a pastry mix (you will need to work quickly so the potato does not turn the pastry grey)
14. Remove the vegetables from the cooker, drain and place in a pie dish
15. Flour the surface and roll out the pastry to the size needed to cover the pie dish
16. Place the pastry over the edges sealing the edges to the pie dish,  trim the pastry and make a few cuts in the pastry to let out the steam during cooking
17. Brush the surfaces with milk
18. Place in a moderate oven for half an hour
19. Remove from the oven and serve with brown gravy and carrots