Corned beef pie

Name: Corned beef pie
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: Tinned corned beef; Carrots; Floury potatoes; Onion; Olive oil; Filo pastry; Water; Salt; Black pepper

202 kcal a serving, against 565 for the traditional version. That is 363 kcal off, or 64%, with 10.5g of protein. Serves 6. 1 hour 15 minutes.

What the traditional version is

The classic: tinned corned beef chopped up and mashed with hot, buttery potato, sometimes a lick of onion for depth, all encased in a shortcrust pastry shell.

What changed, and what each change costs

Half the corned beef for carrots

Corned beef is mainly fat with just enough meat to keep it legal. Carrots add bulk, a bit of sweetness, and plenty of moisture, so you can get away with less meat without turning the thing into wallpaper paste.

What it costs you. You lose the dense, slightly greasy bite that makes the pie stick to your ribs. It tastes brighter and lighter, but you won't get that full-on salty, meaty wallop. If that's what you're here for, you'll notice.

Shortcrust pastry shell for a single filo top

Shortcrust is pure flour and butter, and double-layered at that. Filo is so thin you can see the filling through it, but it still gives you something crisp to crack through. You can use two sheets without guilt. Not the same, but worth it.

What it costs you. No buttery crunch at the base, and the pie won't hold its shape in hand. Don't try to eat this one as a packed lunch unless you fancy wearing it.

Butter out of the mash, in comes a little olive oil

Butter makes for lush, creamy mash, but it's easy to go heavy-handed. A splash of olive oil will keep things from drying out and sneak in a bit of silkiness, though nobody's going to swoon.

What it costs you. You lose the dairy richness in the potato, and the missing butter in the pastry is even more obvious. This is where the original walks all over the swap.

Egg and milk glaze for a water brush

You're not glazing a golden domed crust any more, just helping the filo sheets stick. Water does the job with zero fuss.

What it costs you. No gloss, no deep shine. The top is crisp but pale, looking more austere than festive. If you think you can cheat with a spritz of oil spray, I won't judge.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Tinned corned beef
Carrots
Floury potatoes
Onion
Olive oil
Filo pastry
Water
Salt
Black pepper

How it starts

Preheat your oven to 200C.
While that's going, finely chop your onion and soften it in a non-stick frying pan with half the olive oil over a low heat.
Drain the potatoes and carrots well, then mash them together in the pan.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish British.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	565	202
Protein	23g	10.5g
Fat	30.9g	7.3g
Saturated fat	17g	2.2g
Carbohydrate	48.3g	23.8g
Protein per 100 kcal	4.1g	5.2g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish British prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. gluten.

The method is in the book

If you grew up with corned beef pie as a square brick with a golden crust, this will feel like a student bedsit version. No bottom, no buttery layers, no way to hold it in your hand. Still, the pie stays comforting, and - this is the second surprise - you barely miss the extra meat once the carrot softens into the mash. The filo lid is what saves the day. It's not shortcrust, but it shatters and scatters crumbs everywhere, and that's most of the fun. If you want a classic, you'll have to pay for it in butter and beef. This one is lighter in every way, but it won't have you eyeing the statins after dinner.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish British, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback