Field mushroom, Stilton and cranberry parcel

Serves 4

650g field mushrooms, thinly sliced 300g Stilton, sliced 4 tbsp cranberry sauce 300g strong flour, plus extra for dusting 300g unsalted butter, cubed, plus 1 tbsp for cooking and extra for greasing 1 egg, plus 1 yolk 140ml ice-cold water, plus 1 tbsp water 1 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 tbsp sherry 2 tbsp thyme leaves, plus extra to garnish 100ml single cream 1 tbsp cornflour 100g spinach sea salt and black pepper Place the strong flour in a large bowl and add a pinch of salt and the cubed butter. Stir briefly with a wooden spoon. In a measuring jug, combine the egg yolk with the 140ml of ice-cold water. Add the liquid to the bowl and mix together, then bring the mixture together into a dough by hand. On a surface and with a rolling pin, both lightly dusted with flour, roll the pastry out to a rectangle shape approximately 40cm long. Fold the end of the rectangle into the middle of the remaining pastry length, then fold over the other side. Turn it 90 degrees, then roll out to form a rectangle shape and repeat the process two more times. Cover the pastry in cling film and leave to chill for 1 hr. Heat a large saucepan on the hob and add the olive oil and the 1 tbsp of butter. When the butter has melted, add the garlic and onion, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins until the onion has softened. Add the mushrooms and the sherry, and cook for 10 mins, then add the thyme leaves. Add the cream and reduce for 5 mins. Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp of cold water, then stir into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper, mix in the spinach and allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and grease a large flat oven tray. Remove the pastry from the fridge and dust a clean surface area with flour. Roll the pastry out to a 30cm square. Turn it 90 degrees so it is now a diamond shape and transfer to the oven tray. Lightly mark the largest square possible in the middle of the diamond. Pile the mushroom mixture into the square, covering the area completely. Layer the Stilton slices on top of the mushroom filling, then spoon the cranberry sauce in the middle. Fold the side triangles to the top of the pie, pinching the corners together and twisting to fix in place. In a pot, beat the egg with a fork and brush the pastry with the egg wash completely. Bake for 20 mins until the pastry is puffed up and golden. Serve garnished with thyme.

“Nature alone is antique and the oldest art a mushroom” Thomas Carlyle, Scottish philosopher