A Pie for all seasons/reasons
Loosely based on a combination of Anna Jones’s Christmas Goodwill Pie and Dan Lepard’s amazing rough puff pastry with a bit of our nut roast mix thrown in for good measure. OK; as I’m really coming clean, the inspiration for our nut roast comes from Felicity Cloake in the Guardian. Wherever it comes from, the stuffing adds a few Christmas flavours to the mix and makes it a bit more celebratory. Add the gravy (I used Delia’s recipe with charred onions) and really just the turkey you’re missing – and the pastry more than makes up for that.
It’s really all about the vegetables, with fairly minimal seasoning, so it’s worth using the best you and find. They aren’t cast in stone so vary according to availability – butternut squash instead of the sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts instead of greens, carrots if you have a problem with beetroot etc. whatever you choose, it will look amazing.
Anna Jones recommends a kind of rustic, open look – or you could really push the boat out and go for a kind of lattice pastry topping. Or just keep it simple and keep a third of the pastry back for a lid. The choice is yours.
Loosely based on a combination of Anna Jones’s Christmas Goodwill Pie and Dan Lepard’s amazing rough puff pastry with a bit of our nut roast mix thrown in for good measure. OK; as I’m really coming clean, the inspiration for our nut roast comes from Felicity Cloake in the Guardian. Wherever it comes from, the stuffing adds a few Christmas flavours to the mix and makes it a bit more celebratory.
Put the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Chop the cold, hard butter into 1cm cubes and toss this through. Don't rub it into crumbs – with this pastry the butter pieces are flattened and they form flaky layers during baking. In a separate bowl, beat the wine, yolk, thyme and mustard together, pour into the flour mix, and combine everything in a rough dough ball.
Roll the dough out to about 1cm thick, using lots of flour to stop it sticking, then fold in by thirds (fold one-third of the width in from the left, then another third from the right, neatly covering the first fold). Roll again, fold again, then wrap well and freeze for 20 minutes. Repeat this double roll-and-fold twice more at 20-minute intervals, then keep chilled.
Now get your vegetables on the go – all of this can happen at once. Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.
Roast the sweet potatoes for 1 hour until soft. Meanwhile, prepare the beets and parsnips.
Put the beetroot into a roasting tin, with a splash of olive oil and the vinegar, add the marjoram or oregano, and season. Cover with foil and roast alongside the sweet potatoes for 1 hour, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes. Check they’re cooked through – if not, roast for another 15 minutes.
Put the parsnips into a roasting dish with the sage, orange zest, honey and a drizzle of olive oil, mix to coat, then cover with foil. Roast with the other veg for 45 minutes, until golden, removing the foil for the last 5–10 minutes. When all the veg are cooked, remove from the oven and turn the temperature down to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6.
Meanwhile, cook the leeks. Heat the butter or oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the leeks and thyme and cook over a low heat for
20 minutes, until sweet and softened, then set aside.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan, add the greens and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, until just wilted. Season, then add the lemon zest and chilli. Set aside.
Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and mash with a knob of butter or 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a good grating of nutmeg. Adjust the seasoning for all the vegetable mixtures, if needed.
Take your pastry from the fridge and let it sit for a few minutes. Then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin and use it to line a 24cm springform cake tin, leaving the excess hanging over the edges.
Now it’s time to start layering the pie. Start with all the leeks, then
a third of the nut roast mix, spread around as best you can. Next the beets, another layer of nut roast mix the greens, and, then the parsnips, he rest of the nut roast and finally the sweet potato mash.
Finish by bringing the excess pastry over the top of the mash, twisting the ends and laying them on the mash in a haphazard fashion – the little rough bits of pastry will crisp up and look beautiful. The pastry may not cover the whole of the top, but a little vivid orange sweet potato poking through is ok. Brush with the beaten egg or some soya milk.
Bake the pie at the bottom of the oven for 35–40 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool for 15–20 minutes, then remove from the cake tin and place in the middle of the table. Serve with lashings of gravy.
Ingredients
Directions
Put the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Chop the cold, hard butter into 1cm cubes and toss this through. Don't rub it into crumbs – with this pastry the butter pieces are flattened and they form flaky layers during baking. In a separate bowl, beat the wine, yolk, thyme and mustard together, pour into the flour mix, and combine everything in a rough dough ball.
Roll the dough out to about 1cm thick, using lots of flour to stop it sticking, then fold in by thirds (fold one-third of the width in from the left, then another third from the right, neatly covering the first fold). Roll again, fold again, then wrap well and freeze for 20 minutes. Repeat this double roll-and-fold twice more at 20-minute intervals, then keep chilled.
Now get your vegetables on the go – all of this can happen at once. Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.
Roast the sweet potatoes for 1 hour until soft. Meanwhile, prepare the beets and parsnips.
Put the beetroot into a roasting tin, with a splash of olive oil and the vinegar, add the marjoram or oregano, and season. Cover with foil and roast alongside the sweet potatoes for 1 hour, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes. Check they’re cooked through – if not, roast for another 15 minutes.
Put the parsnips into a roasting dish with the sage, orange zest, honey and a drizzle of olive oil, mix to coat, then cover with foil. Roast with the other veg for 45 minutes, until golden, removing the foil for the last 5–10 minutes. When all the veg are cooked, remove from the oven and turn the temperature down to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6.
Meanwhile, cook the leeks. Heat the butter or oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the leeks and thyme and cook over a low heat for
20 minutes, until sweet and softened, then set aside.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan, add the greens and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, until just wilted. Season, then add the lemon zest and chilli. Set aside.
Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and mash with a knob of butter or 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a good grating of nutmeg. Adjust the seasoning for all the vegetable mixtures, if needed.
Take your pastry from the fridge and let it sit for a few minutes. Then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin and use it to line a 24cm springform cake tin, leaving the excess hanging over the edges.
Now it’s time to start layering the pie. Start with all the leeks, then
a third of the nut roast mix, spread around as best you can. Next the beets, another layer of nut roast mix the greens, and, then the parsnips, he rest of the nut roast and finally the sweet potato mash.
Finish by bringing the excess pastry over the top of the mash, twisting the ends and laying them on the mash in a haphazard fashion – the little rough bits of pastry will crisp up and look beautiful. The pastry may not cover the whole of the top, but a little vivid orange sweet potato poking through is ok. Brush with the beaten egg or some soya milk.
Bake the pie at the bottom of the oven for 35–40 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool for 15–20 minutes, then remove from the cake tin and place in the middle of the table. Serve with lashings of gravy.