A tasty, hearty pie to fill up the whole family

I’ve taken inspiration from my dad and transformed his pie into a heartier version by adding potatoes and making it particularly delicious with the inclusion of lemon zest and capers.

Hale and hearty. This pie will fill the whole family. Photography by Rob Palmer

Often on a Friday when the fridge was bare, Dad would proudly cook us his tuna surprise pie, which really only consisted of canned tuna and cheese wrapped in pastry. I’ve taken inspiration from that and transformed his pie into a heartier version by adding potatoes and making it particularly delicious with the inclusion of lemon zest and capers. Don’t be afraid to add other ingredients like herbs – dill would be a nice touch.

Try too my family meat pie and my economical chicken drumstick stew.

This is an edited extract from Cook Ahead by Justine Schofield (Plum, $39.99).

Use what’s in your pantry to fill out this clever, economical pie.

Tuna and potato pie

Ingredients

• 2 desiree potatoes, unpeeled
• 3 squares of frozen butter puff pastry, thawed and left in the fridge until ready to use
• 425g can tuna in oil, drained well
• 3 eggs
• 125g (1 cup) grated cheddar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon capers in brine, drained
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds Tomato relish or tzatziki, to serve
• Lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a skewer. Drain; when cool enough to handle, remove the skins and roughly cut into 2cm pieces.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C (ideally fan-forced with bottom element function). Place a baking tray in the oven to preheat and lightly oil a 23cm loose-base tart tin.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, line the tin with one pastry square, pressing it in well to the base and side. Cut another square of pastry in half and use these pieces to patch the gaps in the base, allowing the excess to hang over the side. Seal by using a fork to press the seams together. Dock the pastry base with the fork, then place in the fridge until ready to use.
4. Combine the tuna and potato, two of the eggs, the cheese, mustard, lemon zest and capers in a bowl. Use a fork to mix thoroughly and mash some of the potato bits. Spoon the tuna and potato filling into the pastry case. Place the remaining pastry sheet over the filling and stretch it out slightly to create a lid (use extra pastry if needed to cover the filling). Trim away the excess pastry and press the edges together to seal and create a nice border. Whisk the remaining egg and brush it over the pastry, then sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Use the tip of a knife to pierce the centre of the pastry lid.
5. Place the pie on the hot tray, slide onto the bottom shelf of the oven (this ensures the pie base cooks evenly) and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden colour. Cool the pie in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and serve with the tomato relish or tzatziki, plus some lemon wedges for squeezing if you like.

Serves 4