Deep Dish Pie

Serves 4-6

This is a totally gorgeous pie — bring this to the table and everyone will sigh with delight. And as we use ready-made vegan pastry and burgers or meatballs, it is easy to put together. The pastry is widely available but just check the ingredients’ label to make sure it is vegan. A bowl of green peas is the perfect accompaniment.

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped

• 250g (8.8 oz) button mushrooms,

thinly sliced

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 tbsp white spelt or plain flour

• 480g (16.9 oz) Linda McCartney meatballs (or burgers), roughly chopped, or others of your choice

• 1 tsp fresh thyme, leaves only

• 250ml (8.4 fl oz) vegetable stock

• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard

• 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 320g (11.2 oz) vegan puff pastry sheet

• Plant-based milk of your choice, to brush over

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Put the oil into a large non-stick frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and sauté for 12-15 minutes until the mushroom juices have been released and have evaporated, so the pan is mostly dry and the mushrooms are golden.

2 Add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes until aromatic. Mix in the flour and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the vegetarian meatballs or burgers, thyme and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce is thickened.

3 Stir in the mustard, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar and cook for another 3 minutes. Season to taste.

4 Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/

Gas 7. Turn a 23cm pie dish upside down and place it on top of the rolled-out sheet of puff pastry. Cut around the perimeter of the dish, leaving an extra centimetre of pastry overlapping. Turn the dish right side up and tip in the pie mixture. Dampen the rim of the dish with a little water, then carefully place the puff pastry lid on top and crimp the edges into place.

5 If you like, you can use the leftover pastry to create cut-outs for the top of the pie — leaves, letters or whatever you like. Brush the pastry gently with a little milk and make a hole in the centre of the pastry for the steam to escape while the pie is cooking.

6 Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200°C/ Fan 180°C/Gas 6 and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen: Over 90 plant-based recipes to save the planet and nourish the soul by Linda, Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney (published by Seven Dials in hardback on 24 June 2021 at £26), smarturl.it/LindaMcCartneyBook