Ding dong merrily on pie

of slowly-caramelised onions and a good tangy cheese. The cheese choice is entirely yours – you could go for a more traditional Gruyère, Cheddar, or even a tangy blue, but I find the acidity and twang of a tasty-style Lancashire fits the bill perfectly here.

You can make everything a day in advance, or longer if you freeze the pie in its raw state.

If you don’t have enough guests to justify making such a big pie, you could try making individual pithiviers with two discs of puff pastry moulded around a cylinder of gratin, or even make simple pasties with a rough puff or shortcrust, filled exactly the same way.

A note on the truffle oil; the Terre Nostre brand of truffle oil is by far the best I’ve come across – strong, and deeply aromatic. t’s worth having a bottle on the shelf for any number of reasons – drizzling over the Sunday roast of beef or chicken, or boosting the humble cheese toastie.

It’s great on pasta and wonderful with roasted root vegetables. Well worth splurging on a bottle, and this brand is great because it’s far more intense than any other supermarket-stocked brands I have tried.

It can be found locally at the large supermarket that used to be Hillards. Mum’s the word. So please, do try this simple, yet luxurious dish – don’t let the veggies keep this one to themselves!