Wartime Ration Recipe: Woolton Pie Pizza
Public VE Day celebrations may be on hold but that does not mean we cannot acknowledge it from the comfort of our own homes. So, we have put together some 1940s inspired recipes to get you in the mood. Plus, being in isolation, we all have a little appreciation for what the country went through during the Second World War. For example, stockpiling of essentials has led to rationing in the supermarkets and, considering this, here is the first of our rationing inspired recipes, Woolton pizza pie.
Woolton pie was first created by Francis Ladry, the chef at the Savoy Hotel in London, and is named after Lord Woolton, who became Minister of Food in 1940. He helped to make the pie famous and it became a staple for many families during wartime. However, we have added a little modern twist and turned the pie into a pizza that the whole family can enjoy and even help to prepare.
You will need:
- Ready-prepared pizza bases or you can make your own if you prefer
- 2 carrots
- 2 parsnips
- ½ a cauliflower
- 6 new potatoes
- ½ a swede
- 2 tablespoons of chopped spring onions
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 50g finely chopped parsley
- 5 cloves of garlic with skins on
HOW TO:
- Prepare your pizza base or you could make your own substituting some of the flour with mashed potato. It is up to you we just feel the ready-made pizza bases make it easier for kids to join in.
- Preheat your oven to 180C or gas mark 4
- Parboil the new potatoes until they are tender but not completely cooked. Leave them to cool
- Thinly slice the carrots and swede
- Slice the cauliflower florets, not too thinly though, you do not want them to disintegrate
- Roast the swede, carrots, and the garlic in a roasting tin with the olive oil and sprinkle on the paprika
- Roast the veg for 10 minutes or until they begin to soften and then add the cauliflower. Make sure you mix the veg around so they are all coated in the oil and paprika and roast for a further 5 minutes
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool
Assembling your pizza (this is where the kids can help)
- Using the roasted garlic from the veg you roasted earlier, squeeze the garlic from the cloves and spread over your pizza base
- Arrange the swede around the edge of the pizza overlapping slightly. Working inwards place the carrots slightly overlapping the bottom edge of the swede, following the circular base round
- Slice your potatoes and place them in a circle on top of the carrots
- Fill the centre of the pizza with the roasted cauliflower
- Bake the pizza at 200C or Gas mark 6 until the base is golden brown usually 20-30 minutes. If the veg is cooking quicker than the base and they are going brown, cover the top with oil
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley and spring onions.
Try serving with salad, but you can also enjoy this pizza cold, too. If you don’t have all the veg or don’t like some of it use whatever you have or whatever takes your fancy. After all, using up what you have in the cupboard is what it is all about.
Remember to share your creations with us on Instagram @hydratem8! We’d love to see them.
