Few dishes feel more British than the pie. Not to get all Reform UK, but it’s difficult not to feel a sense of patriotism and pride when slicing through a ridge of buttery pastry to uncover something glorious beneath. Steak and ale, chicken and tarragon, that sort of thing.
Not that we actually invented pies. We have the Romans to thank for that. Their cooks encased meat in thick, inedible pastry as a means to preserve food and transport it. Records show the Roman brought pies to Britain circa 1300.
