Vegetarian mains
Root veg and blue cheese pasties
Rich, crisp and melty-cented vegetarian pasties. The suggested filling is just a starting point; vary it depending on what you have it your veg box. These are good hot or cold and if you want to prepare ahead, can be made up to the point of baking then frozen. You can cook them straight from the freezer, so it’s a good way to use up odd bits of root veg. If pastry making seems like too much of a faff, start off with good shop-bought pastry instead.
Ingredients
for the pastry
- 500g plain flour
- 250g cold unsalted butter, cut into small dice
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 egg yolks
- about 6-8 tbsp cold water
for the filling
- 200g swede, peeled weight, cut into 1cm dice
- 100g carrot, peeled weight, cut into 1cm dice
- 100g parsnip or celeriac, peeled weight, cut into 1cm dice
- 100g onion, cut into small dice
- 150g Stilton or other blue cheese,crumbled
- 1 egg, beaten
- salt and pepper
Method
Make the pastry
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Step 1
Put the flour, butter and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
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Step 2
Add the egg yolks and pulse to combine. Don't over mix it.
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Step 3
Gradually add the water. Stop pulsing the moment the mixture looks like it's starting to come together.
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Step 4
Transfer to your work surface or a bowl and form into a ball with your hands (press it together rather than kneading it).
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Step 5
Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably for and hour or two. Preheat oven to 170°C/Gas 4.
Make the filling
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Step 1
In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients together, seasoning well, particularly with pepper.
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Step 2
Split the pastry into 8 similar sized pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each circle to about 17-18cm. Use a bowl as a template to cut around if you have one, it's easier. Divide the filling between the pastry circles.
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Step 3
Fold up the sides and use your fingers to press the pastry together, crimping it as you go. If the pastry does split slightly, press it back together or patch it with a small off cut, no one will mind!
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Step 4
Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment paper. Bake for 45-50 minutes or so, until golden.