Pieminister has created a brand new vegetarian pie to lead its British Pie Week celebrations this March. The Saag Pie-Neer will be available nationwide from Monday 7 March (the first day of British Pie Week) and includes chunks of Paneer cheese cooked with garden peas, spinach, potato, chilli and mango. This new pie launch is part of Pieminister’s plan to encourage even the most committed carnivores to swap their usual pie choice for a vegetarian alternative once in a while.
Pieminister founders Jon Simon and Tristan Hogg believe that, like them, many of their customers are now eating less meat and would welcome more vegetarian choice. In addition to adding the Saag Pie-Neer to their range, Monday 7 March will also mark the start of a partnership with Meat Free Monday in all Pieminister restaurants and cafés across the country. Every Monday, the full menu will still be available but all vegetarian pies will be sold at 50p off the normal price as a gentle nudge to customers to #TryAVegPie.
The new pie was launched after asking Britain’s pie eaters what they’d put in their perfect vegetarian pie. The call for meat free recipes generated over 1200 entries and Leah Shield’s take on the classic Punjabi combination of Indian Paneer cheese and peas fitted Pieminister’s brief perfectly. A student in Leeds and a vegetarian for six years, Leah’s winning recipe combines her two favourite foods: pies and curry.
This brings Pieminister’s vegetarian range up to 5 options, which can be bought at their restaurants and cafés, market stalls and pie pubs, as well as being available to buy online and in selected supermarkets including Waitrose and Wholefoods.