Rustic Vegetarian Pies

 Prep Time : 1 Hour | Cook Time : 30 Minutes | Total Time : 2 1/2 Hours | Difficulty : Moderate

The pie is a glorious thing. There are so many sweet and savoury variations and almost every cuisine has their own take – all of which are delicious. As you can tell I am a lifelong fan of the pie. These super satisfying rough’n’tumble ones are packed with vegetables and tasty enough to convert the most dedicated carnivore.

There are three main steps to this recipe that need to be spread over a few hours. You need to make the pastry with enough time for it to rest in the fridge for at least an hour. The filling also needs to be prepared with enough time to cool before assembling the pies – if you put warm filling into cold pastry it will turn into a soggy mess before the pastry has time to bake. I suggest making the filling about 2 hours out from when you will start baking. While the filling cools make the pastry and pop it in the fridge to rest. After an hour everything should be ready to go.

Peel the kumara and cut into 1 inch dice. Cover with water and simmer until tender – about five minutes. Drain and set aside. Peel and finely chop a medium onion. Pop the onion into a large frying pan with a little olive oil and cook over a medium heat until softened. While the onion is cooking roughly chop the rest of the vegetables. When the onion is soft add the other veges and cook until tender. Add the kumara to the pan and mix in. Add the milk, grated cheddar, cream cheese and seasonings and stir gently to melt/distribute and coat the vegetable mixture. Remove the creamy vegetable mixture from the heat and set aside to cool.

While the veges are cooling let’s make the pastry. Cut the butter into small pieces and, working quickly, rub into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Using a metal spoon quickly mix in the milk until it comes together loosely. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead. This will only take 20 seconds or so as all you want to do is bring it together. Pop it into a zip-lock bag and leave it to chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Put the oven on to 200C (390F). You will need a Texas muffin tin or six deep individual pie tins. I think these would also work really well for kids’ lunches made up in a regular muffin size (reduce baking time to around 20 minutes). Divide the pastry into six equal pieces.

Pat each piece into a round and then roll out, keeping them as circular as possible. Roll them out until they are about half a centimetre thick.

To help them form into the muffin tins it can help to cut a narrow wedge from each circle. When you line the tins press the overlapping edges of the wedge together to seal. The edges of the pastry will hang over but don’t trim them off.

Divide the filling between the tins. If there is any left over it will make a killer toasted sandwich, just sayin’. Top each pie with a bit of extra cheese – I’ve used slices of brie – and a sprinkling of smoked paprika. Fold the excess pastry over the top of the pies as best you can, they will look quite free-form which is all good.

Bake for 30 minutes, turning halfway through. The pastry should be golden and the filling hot in the centre. Gobble up straight away – being careful not to burn your tongue of course! These are also great cold for lunch.