The Vintage Savory Pie That Is Slowly Being Forgotten

Pies are perhaps one of the most versatile dishes in the culinary canon. Almost anything can be made into pie, and there are a wide variety of well-known examples — from cherry and pumpkin to apple and banana cream, just to name a few. But some once-popular pies fade into obscurity, and one such flavor is the onion pie.

The earliest known appearance of onion pie comes from a 1747 cookbook, "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy" by Hannah Glasse. This recipe combined onions with apples, potatoes, boiled eggs, nutmeg, mace, salt, cracked pepper, and butter. It appealed to the English working class as a filling, flavorful, and affordable meal. But, at some point after the 18th century, this dish began to evolve.

Onion pies became less hearty, with apples and potatoes being replaced by white cheese and cream. Some of the newer recipes whisked the eggs for a quiche-like texture, while others omitted them entirely. Eggs or no eggs, the creamier version survives to this day, most often called an onion and cheese pie. But its days of being a dietary cornerstone are long gone; without people eating onion pies as a matter of economic necessity, they've become more of a niche food.

Onion pie may be one of the classic pies that have nearly vanished from modern dining, but it hasn't completely disappeared. It can still be found in various eateries across the U.K., and it even has a relative in the American South called Vidalia onion pie. Due to southeast Georgia's low-sulfur soil, Vidalia onions are sweeter and more mild than most yellow onions, and can even be eaten like an apple — or in a creamy, cheddar-filled Vidalia onion pie.

There are many different types of onions and ways to cook them, but onion pies often use sliced sweet onions because they're less pungent than other varieties. A pie made with red onions, for instance, might be too spicy for all but the vegetable's most passionate fans. Any kind of sweet onion, however, is mellow enough to let the cream and cheese shine, too.

Onion pies are easy to make at home, and serve as a versatile base for culinary creativity. This sweet onion pie recipe is designed to go with a plate of steak and potatoes, but there's no reason either ingredient couldn't go directly into the pie. Serve it with chimichurri for a bit of herbal lightness and acidity — or put it inside the pie, as well!