Also known as mutton pies, these have a very long history. In the middle ages, they were frowned upon by the Scottish church, viewed as luxurious, decadent English-style food. In later centuries, they proved to be convenient and sustaining snacks for working people, who would buy them hot from pie-men or pie-wives in the city streets. The space on top of the pie, created by the raised crust, would sometimes be filled with gravy, beans or mashed potato.
I love a good Thai chicken curry, fragrant with spices, chilli and ginger, and creamy with coconut milk. This is my pastry-topped tribute to that dish. Equipment and preparation: for this recipe you will need a 1.2 litre/2 pint pie dish and a lattice cutter.
This gorgeous pie plays on the wonderful affinity between pork and apples. The fruit gives a subtle sweetness to the cider-enriched gravy and the sage lends an aromatic note. Equipment and preparation: you will need a 1.2 litre/2lb 12oz pie dish and a pie funnel.
Although this is a veggie roast, this truly is a meal fit for a king. I admit this is not the shortest of recipes, but it is really satisfying to make and the pastry is brilliantly quick and simple. For this recipe you will need an 18cm/7in springform cake tin.
This chicken pie is easy to make and still feels like a proper pie - even though it's lower in calories. Serve with steamed veg, it's so filling you don't need anything else. For this recipe you will need two individual pie dishes (about 400ml/14fl oz). Each serving provides 344kcal, 41g protein, 12g carbohydrate (of which 8g sugars), 14g fat (of which 6g saturates), 3g fibre and 1.5g salt.
You can either make the dough from scratch for this pizza, which takes no time at all, or for an even speedier method, buy soft tortillas and use these as a base for the pizza instead of making your own.