Woolton pie from the store cupboard

On 29 April 1941 a member of Parliament asked the Ministry of Food whether it was aware of “the popularity of the dish known as the Lord Woolton pie”, and for the recipe. The answer is in Hansard: a pound each of diced potatoes, cauliflower, swedes and carrots, “three or four spring onions, if possible”, a teaspoon of vegetable extract and a tablespoon of oatmeal, cooked for ten minutes, cooled, and baked under “a crust of potato or wheatmeal pastry”. It was named after Lord Woolton, the Minister of Food, and is credited to François Latry, the Savoy’s head chef.

Not everyone took to it. The Imperial War Museum says it “wasn’t popular and was frequently mocked in songs and rhymes”. Made exactly as written it is plain, and the rationing context explains why: no meat, little fat, nothing to brown. But the Ministry’s own answer contains the line that makes it worth cooking now. The ingredients “can be varied according to the vegetables in season”. It was never meant as a fixed recipe. It was a method for whatever you had, which is exactly what a store cupboard needs.

So the season here is the tin. And this version gives the pie what rationing could not: a little oil, a proper gravy, and the yeast extract doing what the 1941 “vegetable extract” was there for, which is to make a pot of vegetables taste savoury.

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6).
2. Drain all four tins, keeping the liquid from the carrots and green beans. Cut the potatoes into chunks.
3. In a pan, put the vegetables, dried onion, oats, yeast extract, herbs and pepper with 200 ml of the kept liquid. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring, until the oats have thickened it. That is the Ministry’s method, and it holds.
4. Tip into a pie dish.
5. Make the crust. Boil 450 ml of water, take it off the heat, stir in the instant mash and half the oil. Spread it over the vegetables and rough up the top with a fork. Brush or drizzle with the rest of the oil.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the ridges are browned.
7. Gravy, while it bakes: crumble the stock cube into 300 ml of boiling water. Mix the cornflour with a little cold water, stir it in, and simmer until it thickens. A little more yeast extract makes it browner and deeper.

No oven: put the hot filling in the pan, spread the mash over, cover and heat gently for five minutes. You lose the browned top and keep everything else.

Serves 4.