Everyone likes a good pie, and I’d been promising to make Kieran a cheese and onion pie for ages – and he LOVED this one (so much so that when he asked me a minute ago which recipe I was blogging about and I told him it was this pie, he said ‘mmmm, cheese and onion pie’  just like Homer Simpson.)

I love the way it uses layered, sliced potatoes instead of mash, so the pie looks neater and stands up better and you get big hits of flavour from the cheese filling – plus it’s super easy to make. Delicious!

Recipe from BBC Good Food.

• 200g strong, hard cheese (I used cheddar ), ½ coarsely grated, ½ cut into small chunks
• 200ml tub crème fraîche
• 500g shortcrust pastry
• 1kg floury potatoes , thinly sliced
• 2 onions , finely sliced
• 1 bunch spring onions , roughly chopped
• small pinch grated nutmeg
• large pinch paprika
• 1 egg , beaten

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. In a small bowl, mix the grated cheddar with the crème fraîche, then set aside. Grease and lightly flour a ceramic or metal pie dish, or shallow cake tin, about 23cm wide. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured surface until large enough to line the tin with a little overhang.
2. Place a layer of potatoes over the tart and scatter over some of the sliced onions, spring onions and chunks of cheese. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and paprika. Layer over more potatoes, scatter again with more onions and cheese, then splodge over half the crème fraîche mix. Repeat with 2 more layers (the potatoes will come up way above the pastry), pushing the filling down slightly, then finish with the remaining crème fraîche mix.
3. Roll the remaining pastry so it fits over the potatoes. Brush the sides with egg, then lay the pastry over the top. Squeeze the edges together and trim with a knife. Crimp the sides and brush the top all over with egg. Place the pie on a baking sheet, bake for 30 mins, reduce the temperature to 180C/ fan 160C/gas 4, then carry on baking for 1 hr until golden. Leave the pie to rest for 10 mins, then serve straight from the dish cut into slices, with a salad or baked beans on the side.