Cait's Festive Christmas Pie
The time for Christmas menu choices is suddenly here and, digging around in my memory, I discovered this old family favourite. A friend of mine recommended it when it was my turn to host family Christmas and I needed to feed several vegetarians, myself included.
It sounds fiddly to make, but really isn’t, and if it weren’t for the need to produce a gluten-free meal this year, this is what we would be having. Merry Christmas one and all!
Ingredients
1 large pack of puff pastry
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
450g carrots, scrubbed and coarsely grated
1 medium parsnip, peeled and grated
400g mushrooms, broken or roughly chopped
360g peeled chestnuts
400g cream cheese
2 – 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 generous pinch of dried mixed herbs
2 tablespoons tomato purée
¼ teaspoonful each:
ground coriander seeds
fenugreek
mace
Salt and pepper
1 egg to glaze the pastry
Method
Finely chop the onion and soften with the spices and garlic in a large heavy-based pan over a low heat, stirring frequently so it doesn’t catch. Once the onions are softened add the carrots, parsnip and mushrooms, as well as the dried herbs, stirring thoroughly from time to time. The vegetables will release liquid as they cook. Simmer the mix to reduce the liquid. If the mixture is still a bit sloppy, pour off some of the liquid and retain, setting mixture and juice aside to cool.
If the chestnuts are whole, chop them roughly. When the vegetable mix is cool, add the cream cheese, parsley, tomato purée, chestnuts, and salt and fresh ground pepper. Stir thoroughly, using a folding technique, so that everything is well incorporated, but not too mashed up. If it seems a little dry, add some of the reserved juice.
How to make the plaited pie crust
Place a large sheet of greaseproof or baking paper on the worktop, under the pastry block. Next, roll out the pastry to a rectangle approximately 18” x 15”. Spread the cool mixture length ways down the middle third of the pastry. Using a sharp knife, make cuts into the pastry on either side of the mix. The cuts should be at a diagonal from the central mix – at an angle of approximately 15 to 20 degrees. Draw each strip across the mix, towards the middle, along the length of the mix, to create a plaited effect.
(If you are unsure how to do this, search on YouTube – look for “braiding puff pastry”)
Glaze the top of the plait with the beaten egg, then wrap as follows.
Wrap the plait loosely in the greaseproof paper, and finish off wrapping in tin foil.
Bake in a preheated oven, at 220o for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap the parcel, then finish browning for the last 10 minutes.
You can prepare the plait a few days in advance, and freeze it before baking, as long as you have not used frozen puff pastry.
Defrost the plait for about 90 minutes at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge, then bake as above.