Lord Woolton Pie | Recipes from Modern History

Week 23 of Dave Raymond’s Modernity course, you’ll be covering “The Cross and Perseverance: World War II, Bonhoeffer, and Churchill” As the War progressed and food became scarce, housewives had to be creative about how to feed their families with meals like Lord Woolton Pie.

After England and later the US entered World War Two, food quickly became a problem. Trade was interrupted, the men who worked on the farms had to leave to fight, and food shortages were imminent. Everyone was required to get a ration card and some foods like chocolate and fruit quickly became scarce. Campaigns in England and America called their citizens to start victory gardens and grow as much food as they could at home. There were meatless days, wheat-less days, sugarless days, and citizens were continually encouraged to save what they could for the soldiers overseas and make do with what they had. England was especially hard up as they heavily relied on international trade for their food supplies, which shut down because of the War. Housewives soon became ingenious at creating dishes from their garden to fill up their families. Meals like Lord Woolton Pie were especially common in English households as it was vegetarian, full of healthy nutrients, and required very little fat, which was in short supply.

Lord Woolton Pie 

*recipe adapted from Savor the Flavour

Filling:

• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped to 1” pieces
• 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 large turnip, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. Oats
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 3 tbsp. Dried or flesh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic

Crust:

• 2 c. Flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
• 1/2 c. Mashed potatoes
• 6 tbsp. Butter
• 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• Cold water

1. Prepare all the vegetables and place in large pot. Add the onion, oats, garlic, and salt and add enough water to barely cover the vegetables. Cover pot with lid and bring water to a boil. Let it sit at a low boil for 6-8 minutes, then drain, reserving the liquid. 
2. To make the crust, preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, add the flour. Cut in the butter using a pastry knife or two butter knives, until mixture looks like small peas or breadcrumbs. Add the mashed potatoes, baking powder, and salt. Add cold water a few tablespoons at a time, until the dough comes together, then lightly knead a few times until all the flour is picked up from the bottom of the bowl. Wrap dough in parchment paper or plastic wrap and let sit in fridge for thirty minutes. 
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough. In a deep-dish pie pan pour in the vegetable filling and 1 c. liquid. Cover with dough, trim and make 3-4 vents, then cook for 30 minutes until golden brown. While the pie is cooking, make a gravy. In a saucepan melt 5 tbsp. butter, then add 1/4 c. flour. Stir frequently on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add in 1 1/2 c. Reserved vegetable broth and stir for 3-5 minutes, until gravy thickens. Serve pie with generous helping of gravy.