Christmas pie with greens, chestnuts and feta
Sweet chestnuts and currants, salty feta and robust greens make an excellent filling for this well-spiced festive pie. It needn't only be kept for the vegetarians! For ease, it can be made in advance and frozen uncooked. Defrost before putting in the oven.
Ingredients
- 400-500g chard, spinach or kale (be generous if using spinach)
- 200g cooked, peeled chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 100g walnut pieces, toasted
- 80g currants, soaked in hot water for 20 mins and drained
- leaves from 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 level tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 level tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground allspice or ground cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 200g feta cheese, crumbled
- 500g ready-made all butter puff pastry
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Line a baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper.
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Step 2
Pull any hard stalks from the greens, wash the leaves and blanch them in boiling salted water until just tender (or steam them). Drain and rinse immediately under plenty of cold water. Drain again and squeeze out the leaves, chop finely and place in a mixing bowl.
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Step 3
Add the chestnuts, walnuts, currants, thyme, spices and olive oil. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg, then add the remaining egg to the leaves and combine everything thoroughly. Add the feta and mix in carefully so that the pieces of cheese do not break up. Season with salt and pepper.
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Step 4
On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry 3mm thick into a rectangle roughly 25x30cm. Pile the filling in a thick tube along the shorter edge and carefully roll up into a cylinder.
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Step 5
Brush a little egg where the pastry joins to seal and trim off any overlapping pastry. Place on the baking sheet. Brush the pie with the rest of the egg and cut a few diagonal slashes in the pastry so steam can escape.
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Step 6
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and the pastry is cooked through. Serve with cranberry sauce.
