Chestnut Cranberry Pie

The Vegan Chef School, Elisa Mendes

A great recipe for a Christmas canape, starter or main. These pies are lovely either piping hot with lashings of gravy or at room temperature with a dollop of cranberry sauce on top.

Makes 8 small pies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 70 minutes

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Ingredients

1tbsp sunflower oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

125g mushrooms, roughly chopped

400g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

125g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

125g dried puy or green lentils

1 litre water

125g baby spinach

25g dried cranberries

3 sage leaves, finely chopped

1tbsp tomato puree

50ml vermouth (optional)

1/2tsp salt

1/4tsp ground black pepper

½ a mushroom or veg stock cube

1tsp yeast spread or dark miso

2 gluten-free ready made puff pastry

1tbsp plant milk

A great recipe for a Christmas canape, starter or main. These pies are lovely either piping hot with lashings of gravy or at room temperature with a dollop of cranberry sauce on top.

Makes 8 small pies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 70 minutes

Method

In a large frying pan heat the oil on a medium heat. Once hot, add the onions, cook for 10-15 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms, cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the mushrooms are browned.

Add the squash, chestnuts, lentils, water, spinach, cranberries, sage, tomato puree, vermouth, salt, pepper, stock cube and yeast spread to the pan. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are soft.

Heat your oven to 180c/360f/GM4. Roll the pastry out until it is thin. Cut 8 circles and place in small tart tins making sure the dough goes up the sides. Prick the bases with a fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the pastry has cooked and is starting to turn golden brown.

Divide the lentil mixture between the tart bases. Cut star shapes from the remaining dough and place on top of each tart. Brush a little milk on the pastry as a glaze. Bake for a further 10 minutes until the filling is cooked through and the star pastry is golden.

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