Shallot & Chestnut Pie
Chava is a professional food writer and photographer www.flavourphotos.com and first started to create mouth-watering vegan recipes and photographs for Viva! in 2006. She lives in the Cotswolds with her partner and two young boys, Sam and Alex.
About this recipe, she says: ‘Gorgeous golden pastry and a hidden ingredient that nobody will guess: finely chopped prunes round off this Christmas pie beautifully!’
Ingredients:
- 50g/1½oz margarine
- 1 heaped tbsp flour
- 200ml/7fl oz ale (Samuel Smith's and the Co-op have vegan ales in their range. Otherwise google for supermarket vegan lists (M&S, Tesco, Aldi, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Ocado OR Barnivore
- 100ml/3½fl oz vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 250g/8oz shallots
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 250g/8oz chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- 100g/3½oz small button mushrooms
- 100g/3½oz vacuum-packed chestnuts (e.g. Merchant Gourmet)
- 5 prunes, finely chopped
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 1 sheet of ready-rolled vegan shortcrust pastry (e.g. Jus-Rol,Tesco, Sainsbury's)
Method:
1. Melt the margarine and stir in the flour. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes, then add the stock and ale, a little bit at a time to start with. Make sure you whisk well to get a perfectly smooth and thickened sauce. Stir in the tomato purée and set aside.
2. Peel and quarter the shallots and sauté them in the vegetable oil. Let them cook slowly over a low heat so that they turn soft and mellow.
3. After 5 minutes, add the sliced carrots, crushed garlic and 3-4 tbsp water. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and let them simmer gently for another 5 minutes. If needed add a little more water.
4. Add the sliced chestnut mushrooms, button mushrooms, chestnuts, chopped prunes and herbs. Turn up the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes. Pour the prepared sauce over the mix and combine well.
5. Spoon the pie filling into a large ovenproof dish (or divide between smaller, individual ones). Cover your dish with the rolled out pastry, trim the excess with a sharp knife and crimp along the edges so the filling is well sealed.
6. Cut a little cross into the middle to let steam escape and decorate with festive pastry shapes. Brush the top with soya milk.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 200˚C/400˚F/Gas Mark 6 for 30 minutes or until the pastry looks golden brown.
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