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Roasted Garlic, Mushroom & Chestnut Crumble Pie

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“Are you having nut roast for Christmas?” Absolutely nut. I don’t know why people seem to think that the only veggie option is nut roast. I’ve never had it, nor do I have the desire to have it. All I can imagine is a dry lump getting stuck in my throat. I am sure there are some decent ones out there but I’ll leave them for someone else to eat and I’ll stick to my pastry and veg and cheeeeeese please.

P1070487 P1070501I honestly can’t tell you how I came up with the filling for this one but as I was walking home from work one day it just came to me “roasted garlic, mushrooms, chestnuts and some mascarpone so it’s not dry”. I then decided I wanted to jazz up the savoury shortcrust pastry with some cheese and herbs so cheddar and thyme it was!

My obsession with topping things with crumble has now spread to the savoury realm with this pie. And it works a treat. The filling is quite soft so the crunchy, oaty crumble adds a nice bit of texture.

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Recipe 

Make Ahead
A few elements of this pie can be made ahead which makes this a great veggie option for Christmas dinner/lunch. What to do in advance:
– roast garlic
– make dough
– chop mushrooms

The filling can be made on the day whilst the pie crust is cooking.

Serving Suggestions
I suggest serving this pie with roast potatoes, minty peas and roasted chilli broccoli (just add some crushed chilli flakes when roasting)

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 1-1.5 hr (includes 40 mins garlic roasting, making dough & crumble, prepping mushrooms & cooking filling)
Baking Time: 18 mins (blind bake) + 20-25 mins (final bake) = 38-43 mins total
Skill Level: Med- Hard knock life

 

Equipment
Chopping board
Knife
Foil
Large saucepan*
Mixing bowls (a few)
Pestle and mortar
Pie/ tart dish (20cm, I used a loose based one)
Baking beans/ dry pasta/beans

* The larger the pan the better as there is more room for the mushrooms so you may want to use two medium saucepans if you don’t have one larger enough.

Ingredients
Pie Crust
175g plain flour
pinch of salt
85g butter (cubed)
½tsp dried thyme
30-45ml cold water
30g mature cheddar (grated)
Filling
bulbs of garlic
drizzle of olive oil
1kg chestnut mushrooms 
½tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp butter
seasoning
1tsp dried thyme 
200g chestnuts (chopped roughly)
250g mascarpone
Crumble
80g plain flour 
70g butter (softened)
80g rolled oats
¼tsp dried oregano
¼tsp dried thyme
¼tsp sea salt
⅛tsp ground black pepper 

Method

The day before

  1. Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 6
  2. With the skin on, chop the top off each bulb of garlic (about 1-2cm) and drizzle with olive oil.
  3. Wrap the bulbs in foil and roast in the oven for 40 mins.
  4. Whilst the garlic is roasting chop the mushrooms into 4/6 pieces depending on the size. Set aside.
  5. PIE CRUST: Put the butter,flour, thyme and salt in a food processor and whizz on  low-med speed, until mixture resembles fine crumbs. (Can be done by hand; rub butter and flour together)
  6. Stir in the cheese.
  7. Slowly add the water 1 tbsp at a time whilst still whizzing, until the crumbs come together to form a dough (you may not need all the water).
  8. Tip dough out onto a a clean surface and bring together to form a ball. Cover in cling-film and refrigerate for 30mins at least or overnight. Remove from the fridge 20-30mins before using if refrigerating over night.
  9. Remove garlic from oven and refrigerate once cool.

On the day

  1. Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 6
  2. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin into the mortar and mince with sea salt until a paste is formed.
  3. In a large (or two medium) saucepan melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the garlic paste and cook for 30sec.
  4. Add the chopped mushrooms and stir to coat with butter and garlic.
  5. Cook the mushrooms on low heat, stirring occasionally. When water beings to be released, add thyme and season.
  6. Continue cooking mushrooms until all the water has evaporated ** will take up to 20mins.
  7. Whilst the mushrooms are cooking roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface.
  8. Line pie dish with dough, place a sheet of baking parchment in the middle and cover with baking beans.
  9. Blind bake for 10 mins, remove beans and baking parchment and bake for a further 5-8mins until crust is slightly coloured. Set aside and leave to cool slightly.
  10. Tip cooked mushrooms into large mixing bowl. Add mascarpone  and stir well. Set aside.
  11. CRUMBLE: Rub together flour, butter and oats to form med-large bread crumbs. Stir in oregano, salt, thyme and ground black pepper.
  12. ASSEMBLE: Spoon pie filling into blind baked pie crust and top with crumble.
  13. Cover in crumble and bake for 20-25mins until crumble is golden brown.
  14. Serve sharpish with suggested sides 🙂

** You may want increase the heat to encourage evaporation. You want to ensure all the water is cooked out to reduce the risk of having a pie with a soggy bottom.

WISHING YOU A VERY VEGGIE CHRISTMAS

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This is what I will be listening to whilst cooking on Christmas day: James Brown “A Very Funky Christmas”….

KB X

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