No cluck chicken and vegetable spring pie
YOU WILL NEED
4 carrots, chopped Small bundle of asparagus, trimmed and chopped 125g petit pois peas 1 tbsp olive oil Knob of butter 2 garlic cloves, crushed 6 leeks, chopped 1 onion, chopped 250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered 1 tsp celery salt 500g frozen Quorn pieces
150ml white wine 45g plain flour 2 tsp Dijon mustard 100ml vegetable stock 150ml double cream Few sprigs of fresh tarragon, chopped 1 tsp dried parsley 60g vegetarian hard Italian cheese, grated
375g ready-rolled puff pastry 1 egg, beaten Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
■ Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Fan 180ºC/Gas Mark 6. Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Add the carrots and cook for 8 minutes, then add the asparagus and peas. Boil for a further 2 minutes. Drain and blanch in cold water and set aside.
■ In a large cooking pot, heat the olive oil and butter, then add the garlic. Add the leeks and onion and sweat gently until softened. Add the mushrooms and celery salt then season with pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.
■ Tear the Quorn bag slightly and cook in the microwave for 2 minutes to partly defrost. Add the Quorn pieces to the pot, then cook for a further 5 minutes.
■ Pour in the wine and mix. Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the flour.
■ Add the mustard and stock, then cook for a few more minutes. Add the cream, tarragon and parsley, then season.
■ Cook for a further 5 minutes before adding the cheese. Now add the blanched vegetables and stir well to combine. Pour the filling into a large ovenproof casserole dish.
■ Unroll the pastry and cut thin strips of pastry off each edge to line the rim of the casserole dish. Brush with a little egg wash. Carefully lay the remaining pastry over the dish and make two slits for the steam to escape.
■ Pinch and crimp the sides of the pastry, then brush the egg wash all over. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the pie is bubbling and the pastry is golden.
Recipe and image courtesy of Gemma Simmonite, chef and co-founder of Gastrono-me restaurant, gastrono-me.co.uk