Västerbotten Pie
Västerbottenpaj The Brits have Cheddar, the French have Comté and the Swedes have Västerbotten: a good, hardy, flavoursome cheese that can be cooked with or eaten as is. This pie, which I’ve eaten my fair share of, nearly always crops up at midsummer and crayfish parties and at Christmas. Vegetarian
Serves 8 Prep time 1 hour Baking/cooking time 1 hour 5 mins
For the pastry
130g plain flour
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard 80g cold butter, cubed 1 tbsp vodka
For the filling
3 medium eggs 300ml single cream ½ tsp fine sea salt 1 tsp black pepper
300g Västerbotten or mature
Cheddar cheese, grated 1 small onion, peeled and
thinly sliced
For the mushroom topping 75g butter
250g chanterelle mushrooms,
brushed clean a small handful of fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
To make the pastry, mix together the flour and salt. Add mustard and cold butter. Rub together until you have a sandy texture. Add the vodka to bring into a dough. Place between two sheets of baking paper and roll into a circle larger than your quiche tin. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and use it to line the pie tin. If the pastry is too hard, leave to soften for 5–10 minutes before lining the tin. Prick the pastry in the tin with a fork. Line with baking paper and pour in baking weights. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the baking weights and paper and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until the base is dry and firm.
To make the filling, beat the eggs with the cream, salt and pepper until you have a smooth mixture. Stir in the cheese. Pour into the pie case, put the onions on top and bake for another 25–30 minutes, or until the mixture is set but still a little wobbly.
When the pie has cooled, heat the butter for the mushrooms in a large frying pan. Once the butter is foaming, add the chanterelles and cook for 4–5 minutes, or until lightly golden and cooked through. Leave to cool slightly. Scatter the pie with parsley and top with the mushrooms to serve.