Sam’s Pumpkin & Leek Pie

Vegetarian friendly
Prep & cook time: 1 hour 10min
Serves 4

Because who doesn’t love a good pie? Hot water pastry is one of those things that seems like it shouldn’t work but it always does – it’s absolutely fool-proof.

Make sure you give the cashews a quick toast making sure they are a nice golden brown so that they’re all lovely and crunchy for the end result. You can, of course, add whatever you like to this – some sautéed spinach, cooked chickpeas, lentils, or whatever you prefer – just change the ingredients as you see fit.

Hot Water Pastry

2 tsp sea salt
220g butter
260ml water
480g high grade (strong) white flour
1 tbsp Alison’s Pantry pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp Alison’s Pantry sesame seeds

Pie Filling

1 butternut pumpkin, peeled, cored and diced into 2-3cm chunks
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Several sprigs of rosemary
1 leek, finely sliced and washed
¼ cup dry white wine
1 ½ cup (225g) Alison’s Pantry roast unsalted cashews
1 cup Alison’s Pantry quick-cook green lentils*, cooked and drained
1 tbsp butter, to grease the pan
1 egg, lightly beaten, to brush the pastry

Combine the salt, half of the butter and the water together in a small saucepan over a moderate heat, until the butter has melted into the water.

In the meantime, pulse the remaining 110g of butter with the flour and the seeds in a food processor until well combined and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Gradually pour the melted butter and water mixture into the flour, pulsing as you go, until you are left with a smooth, soft ball of dough. Taste a wee bit of it to see if you need to add any more salt; there is nothing worse than underseasoned pastry.

Remove from the food processor, wrap up tightly with cling film, and leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

 

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place the pumpkin in a roasting tray, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and the rosemary, and roast for 20-25 minutes until tender, but not too soft that it is mushy. Remove and allow to cool.

In the meantime, in a pan over medium heat, add a little olive oil and allow to heat up before following with the sliced leek. Cook gently for 5 to 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the white wine and allow to it to bubble up and reduce a little. Remove from heat, add the cooked green lentils and roasted cashews, mix through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grease a round, square or rectangular pie dish, or alternatively, a tart tin. A ceramic dish is also perfectly fine. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use to line the dish, and then layer in the cooked pumpkin and the chickpea mixture. Top with the remaining rolled-out pastry, seal and crimp the edges, brush with a little beaten egg and poke a couple of holes in the top so that steam can escape.

Pop in the preheated oven to bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is cooked and golden brown. Allow to cool a little before serving.

*Cooking notes

Quick-cook green lentils – add 1 cup lentils to 1 cup boiling water. Cook with lid on 2 minutes, remove from heat and stand for 2 minutes.

Alternative legume:

Brown Lentils – add 1/3 cup lentils and 1 cup of water to a pot and bring to the boil, with lid on, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.