British Cuisine - Pies

Pies are very popular food items in the UK. A pie is an oven-baked dish which is usually made of a pastry shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. A pie can be completely closed like the one in the photo, it can be open with just a pastry bottom or it can have a 'top-crust' where the filling is in the dish with a pastry top.

Popular savoury pies in the UK include:

Chicken and Mushroom
Steak and Ale
Steak and Kidney
Meat and Potato
Wild Rabbit

These are served piping hot with gravy and vegetables as a main meal. You can find many of these pies in pubs and cafés.

Popular sweet pies in the UK include:

Apple
Apple and Blackberry
Rhubarb
Blueberry

These are served either hot with custard or cold with cream or icecream.

Pies are so popular in Britain that there is a whole week dedicated to them. Check out the website from this year's Pie Week. In the north of England in my home town there is a village known as the Pie Village. Find out why here.