MIXED GREENS & HALOUMI PASTRY ROLL

SERVES 4-6 / PREPARATION 20 MINUTES / COOKING 45 MINUTES

Over summer and throughout autumn I’ve had a standing vegetable order from OMG, an organic market garden. Partly funded by For the Love of Bees and Auckland Council, they took a vacant site at the top of Symonds Street and converted it into a lush, urban garden. I’ve enjoyed the random selection that I pick up each week, letting the vegetables dictate what I’m going to cook. One of the first things I do is have a meal using the green tops while they are still vibrantly fresh. Sometimes I toss them through pasta, or as side dish with chilli and garlic, but the real favourite for the family is this rustic pie. I vary the root vegetables depending on what I have, but they add a little sweetness and starchiness to the mix. My sons like it with sweet chilli sauce, but I think the cinnamon-spiked tomato sauce used with the lamb in this feature is also an excellent accompaniment.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

800g greens (I used a mix of rainbow chard,

silverbeet, beet and turnip leaves)

1 medium turnip, carrot or beetroot, peeled and grated 2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

200g haloumi, grated (or use feta)

1 packet puff pastry (I used Paneton)

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, garlic and the chopped stems of the greens. Fry with a good sprinkling of salt until soft but uncoloured (at least 5 minutes). Add the turnip, carrot or beetroot and cook for 4-5 minutes until tender. Shred the green leaves and add to the pan and cook until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool, then squeeze out any liquid (be scrupulous here otherwise you will have a soggy pie). Mix 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg with the milk, then set aside to use for glazing the pie. Add the remaining egg to the vegetables along with the haloumi and season generously.

Heat the oven to 200°C.

On a piece of baking paper, roll the pastry to approx. 25cm x 35cm and put the vegetables in the centre (it will seem like a lot). Roll it up tightly, pinching the pastry seams together, put the seam-side down and crimp the edges. Brush with the egg wash and cut a few slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden.