Since we are only a couple of weeks away from the end of winter (Yay Spring!), I thought it was time to post my Mushroom & Leek Pie recipe. While I am not a fan of the colder weather, I will happily get on board for warm, delicious comfort food. For me, the combination of piping hot mushroom and leek filling with light, crispy pastry is a winner with this dish. I like to serve it with creamy mashed potatoes and peas and I am in food heaven. I would happily serve mashed potatoes with just about anything though.
I have been making my mushroom and leek pies for about 4 years but I have never been quite happy with the pastry so I haven’t been ready to post it. In the beginning, I was a bit scared to make my own vegan pastry so I just used store bought pastry. I then figured out how to make pastry and it was really nice but it still wasn’t as crispy as I wanted. Then I discovered brik pastry.
Brik pastry is light and crispy and it gives a rustic and very inviting look to the pies. It is also relatively easy to make and you can use it as soon as you make it. You don’t have to knead it and put it in the fridge before you can roll it so it is also a time saver so yay to that!
Brik pastry is a little tricky because you have to paint the batter onto a hot pan with a paint brush. If you go over the same section more than once, the bottom layer with peel off. It is kind of fun though once you get the hang of it and even the messy ones are ok because brik pastry is very rustic looking anyway.
For me though, the real star of this dish is the filling. If you want to use store bought pastry or my alternate pastry recipe (towards the bottom of this post), that’s ok because the filling is so delicious.
- Filling
- Olive oil
- Vegan margarine
- 2 large leeks – sliced thinly
- 4 large or 12 medium Mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 cup TVP
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 4 cloves garlic
- Thyme
- Salt and pepper
- White Sauce
- 50g vegan margarine
- 2 tbs plain flour
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1 tbs nutritional yeast
- Salt & pepper
- Brik Pastry
- 150 g plain plain flour
- 180g Semolina
- Pinch of Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups warm water
- METHOD - WHITE SAUCE
- Melt vegan margarine in a medium saucepan
- Add flour and mix.
- Gradually add almond milk, whisk continually in between each addition.
- Whisk until sauce is thick.
- Mix through nutritional yeast and salt & pepper.
- Put aside.
- METHOD - FILLING
- Pour 1 cup of hot vegan chicken stock over the TVP in a bowl and set aside.
- Heat oil in a deep frypan or pot and add leek.
- Cook until soft
- Transfer to a bowl.
- Add oil and margarine to same pot and melt
- Cook mushrooms, garlic and salt. Cook in batches if required.
- Add leeks and TVP to mushrooms.
- Add white sauce and mix together.
- Put into bowl set aside until you are ready to use.
- METHOD - BRIK PASTRY
- Sift flour and mix semonlina.
- Add water, oil and salt and whisk thoroughly.
- Heat a flat or crepe pan over medium heat.
- Spray or wipe lightly with oil.
- Heat pan & using a paint brush or pastry brush, brush the mix thinly onto the pan until a thin circle of batter is on the pan.
- It will cook very quickly.
- Once the edges start to lift, it is cooked.
- Place on a large plate with a damp tea towel under and over the pastry to keep it moist.
- Wipe the pan in between cooking each brik pastry.
- Continue until you are out of batter.
- METHOD - PUT PIES TOGETHER
- Lightly oil either a large or six individual pie dishes.
- Place the brik pastry in the pie dishes so one end sits on the bottom & the rest of it comes up the side of the dish. Continue until the base and sides are covered.
- Fill dishes with filling.
- Place more brik pastry on the top.
- Brush top lightly with almond milk.
- Place in a oven pre-heated to 200°C
- Cook for approximately 40 minutes.
- 380g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 170g vegan butter (partially frozen and cut into cubes)
- 150ml cold water
- Place flour and salt into food processor
- Add half the butter and pulse until combined.
- Add remaining butter and repeat.
- It won’t be looking like dough yet, just coarse flour.
- Pour into a large bowl.
- Add cold water gradually while stirring with a butter knife until a ball starts to form.
- Use your hands to form a ball and then cut in half. Roll each half into a ball. Flatten each ball and wrap in cling wrap and then refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Roll dough and place in an oiled pie dish or individual dishes.
- Add filling to dish and place thin pastry on the top. Pinch the sides and poke some steam holes in the top with a knife.
- Cook for approximately 45 minutes at 200°C.
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