WAITER, THERE'S SOMEONE IN MY PIE.

Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has finally arrived to a cinema near me and I'm celebrating pie-style. Any Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration is an absolute must-see for me. Throw in Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman and a switch-blade wielding serial killer and you have the makings of celluloid perfection. And then there is pie. With the tag-line, Never Forgive. Never Forget, it seems that revenge is a dish that is wrapped in pastry, tastes somewhat like pork and is served with a generous flow of gravy.

I could not find a murderous barber at short notice so I filled my pies with the diced flesh of potatoes, a block of cheese grated into little pieces and onions skinned, chopped and sauteed to within an inch of their lives. I may not be able to dispose of any body parts but they certainly tasted good.

Bird's nest hair and corsets are voluntary while baking pies but I must insist you burst into song at least once.

The recipe comes from Tamasin Day-Lewis' Tarts with Tops on.

CHEESE AND ONION PIE

• 285g strong cheddar, coarsely grated
• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 110g potatoes, peeled, cooked and diced
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp double cream
• a sprig of thyme or a bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• pinch of cayenne
• salt and pepper
• shortcrust pastry made from 340g flour and 170g butter.

1. To make the pastry, blitz 340g flour and 170g fridge-cold butter diced into cubes, in a food-processor until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Add ice-cold water a tablespoon at a time through the funnel while the machine is running. When the dough forms into a ball stop the machine and remove the dough. Knead very briefly to make a smooth ball, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
2. Preheat the oven to 220 C. Divide the pastry into two balls, keeping one a little larger than the other. Melt the butter in a pan and gently fry the onions until softened and translucent, then leave to cool. Mix the onions in a bowl with the grated cheese, cooked potatoes, eggs, cream, thyme or parsley and the seasoning.
3. Roll out the larger ball of pastry and line a shallow, greased 9 inch tart tin. Tip the cheese and onion mixture into the pastry shell. Moisten the edges of the pastry and cover with the rolled out smaller piece of dough. Crimp the edges together carefully to avoid the filling spilling out. You can do this with your fingers or with a fork. Brush beaten egg over the top and bake for 30 minutes until crisp and golden brown.

Serves 6 bloodthirsty barbers.

Comments

[Sarah@lettersonlunches]

Oh Laura, the whole Burton/Bonham-Carter/Depp thing drives me batty. I'm not able for it!!! What I am able for though is your pies; they look absolutely divine... Loads of dough in the freezer so they'll make a nice supper some night next week...

[Rachel @ Fairycakeheaven]

Laura - DIVINE!!!

and Johnny Depp even as a murdering barber - hubba hubba

[Mark Thwaite]

"The Wonderful and Surprising History of Sweeney Todd: The Life and Times of an Urban Legend" by Robert L. Mack and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" edited by Mack have both recently landed with me here at Book Depository Towers. A gruesome weekend ahead, methinks! I don't think I'll be celebrating with pies, though ... maybe gin or absinthe!?

[amanda]

when I saw the picture of the pies, I immediately thought of Sweeney Todd :) I loved that movie, and is it wrong that I kind of craved a meat pie after seeing it?

[Laura]

Sarah: Sacrilege!

Rachel: I'll see your hubba hubba and raise you a Homeresque drool.

Mark: Show a little mercy on my credit card! I'll add those two books to my nth reread of the Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. Absinthe for preference please.

STICK BOY AND MATCH GIRL IN LOVE

Stick Boy liked Match Girl,
he liked her a lot.
He liked her cute figure,
He thought she was hot.

But could a flame ever burn
for a match and a stick?
It did quite literally:
he burned up pretty quick.

Tim Burton.

[Deborah]

What wonderful looking pies!

[Cornflower]

I could just make the same comment to every post on this blog: YUMMY!!

[cheryl]

A blog post with awesome food and Johnny Depp, could be the best thing I have seen all week.

[Rachel@fairycakeheaven]

Laura, I'll see your homesque drool and raise you one extremely dirty thought that I won't type out in polite company ;-) tee hee

[Susan from Food Blogga]

That first photo evokes feelings of warmth, satisfactions, and hunger! Oh, I wish I had one of these lovely savory pies right now.

[peabody]

LOL- way to tie it into Sweeny Todd that one made me smile.

[Jen]

I'm so hungry right now and this looks exactly like what I want to eat. Instead I'm waitng for some mince to defrost to make meatloaf(easily known it's the end of the month running out of cash dinner time)
Will be making these soon.
The brownies were a big hit, thnkas from all the O'Briens, especially the one who has just landed in Perth.

[Tartelette]

The pies make me hungry, Johnny Depp makes me hungry...even after the movie! Beautiful!

[jen]

Those pies look absolutely amazing but you really need to put a warning at the beginning of a post like this. I mean, Johnny Depp and luscious pies in one scrumptious posting - it's enough to make a girl come over all peculiar... Going for a quiet lie down in a dark room...

[Miss Ifi]

You are AWESOME!!! *giggles* I think I'll have to make those pies soon, and will definitely burst into song once or twice
hmmm.. I wonder if you can find murderous barbers on the yellow pages *cackles*

[Maryann]

Loved the movie. Depp is a hunk! Love your pies :)

[Carrie]

Can't wait to see the movie! Great post!

[Kieran]

Brilliant, Laura.

[Rachel@fairycakeheaven]

Laura, I've tagged you, hope that's ok, take a look at my site and you'll see what it is and sure take it from there!