Creamy Vegetarian Pie

Celebrate British Pie Week with this delicious vegetarian pie, brimming with seasonal veg such a cauliflower & leek!

Difficulty:

Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes (including 1 hour of resting the pastry)

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 8

Vegetarian Dinner Party Family Favourite Pie

Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Saute onion, leek, carrot and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft and starting to caramelize.
Add the cauliflower, broccoli, peas and water. Cover with a lid and allow to steam for 5-7 minutes until the broccoli is just cooked. Test by piercing the stem with a sharp knife.
Prepare the bechamel/cheese sauce as directed. Pour cheese sauce over the cooked vegetable and mix.
Transfer the filling to a baking dish.
Cover with pastry. Crimp the edges then cut a few vents into the surface. Brush with egg wash. (Use any left over pastry to make decoration for the top)
Place the pie in the oven and allow to bake for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed.
Remove and allow to rest fof 5-10 minutes before serving.

Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in the milk to get a smooth sauce. Return to the heat and, stirring all the time, bring to the boil.
Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
Stir in cheese and allow to melt. Don't re-boil the sauce or it will become stringy.

Make the pastry up to 2 days before you want to assemble the pie. Crumble 650g plain flour and 250g cold diced lard or butter, together with a generous pinch of sea salt until completely combined, then add up to 200ml ice-cold water to make a soft dough. This can be done in a food processor if you want.
Knead the pastry, then wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hr. The pastry can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.