Squash, kale and Stilton pie
Vegetarian mains
Squash, kale and Stilton pie
Stuffed with roasted squash, kale and creamy Stilton, this pie is a vegetarian main that’s glorious enough for dinner parties and Christmas. Serve with a crisp green salad topped with toasted walnuts. Other squash and pumpkin will work just as well as butternut, and if you have another blue cheese lurking in the fridge, that will also do the job instead of Stilton.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash – use ⅓, or a little more if smaller
- oil for roasting and frying, eg sunflower or light olive
- 1 red onion – just use ½ if large
- 10g rosemary
- salad leaves
- 100g kale
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 100g Stilton
- 1 pack puff pastry
- 1 egg
- 30g fresh parsley
- 25g walnut pieces
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 6. Put a large pan of water on to boil. Use a good veg peeler to peel the squash. Halve it, deseed and cut a good third of it into 1-2 cm dice (keep the pieces small so they roast in time). Toss the squash in a baking dish in just enough oil to coat. Season.
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Step 2
Roast for about 30 minutes, until just soft when pierced with a sharp knife. As soon as the squash goes in, peel and finely dice the red onion. Pick the leaves off 1 sprig of rosemary. Finely chop, so it resembles breadcrumbs. You need about 1 tablespoon. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan.
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Step 3
Add the onion and rosemary. Fry on a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion has softened. If it looks like catching at any point, add a splash of water. Meanwhile, wash the salad leaves. Strip the kale off their tough central stalks. Wash well to remove any grit.
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Step 4
Once the pan of water is boiling, add the kale leaves. Cook for 4 minutes, until softened. Drain into a colander. Run under cold water to cool. Squeeze out excess moisture with your hands, so you're left with a small ball of kale. Chop up it up well.
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Step 5
Once the squash and onions are cooked, mix together with the kale, 2 tablespoons of double cream and a little salt and pepper to season. Leave to cool for 15 minutes. Once the veg has cooled, roughly crumble and mix in the stilton. Crack the egg into a cup and beat with a fork.
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Step 6
Lightly oil a non-stick baking sheet. Unroll the pastry sheet. Cut into quarter's. Lay 2 pieces on your baking tray. Score a 2cm border inside the edge of each. Pile the veg mix inside the border. Dampen the pastry border edges with some water on your finger. Lay the other 2 pastry pieces over the top.
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Step 7
Gently stretch it to cover, pressing the edges down well to seal. Pull the edges up and over slightly to confirm the seal. Brush the top all over with the beaten egg (use a pastry brush if you have one, your fingers if not). Bake for 25-30 minutes, until crisp, puffed and golden.
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Step 8
Once the pastry goes in, make a dressing: whisk the mustard, cider vinegar and 3 tablespoons of good olive oil in a small bowl or mug. Wash and pick a few leaves off the parsley (you won't need it all). Once the pie is cooked, give the dressing a little whisk.
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Step 9
Toss the salad leaves, parsley and walnuts in a large bowl with just enough dressing to coat the leaves. Serve the salad with the pie.
