Perfect Pie

from North Walsham Times March 2023

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Something magical happens when you roast vegetables; their flavour intensifies and sweetens, turning a boring veg into something sublime Squashes are notorious for being bland but roast them up and it’s a whole other story Many people consider vegetables to be a side dish but cooked in the right way they become the star of the show and bought seasonally they are a very economical option. I've included fennel here, but don’t worry if you can’t get it, the recipe works fine without it, but it can now be purchased in most supermarkets very reasonably I know some purists don’t like using Bisto, but personally

Editor ’s Recipe

I like to keep it handy as it’s great for gravy and this sort of dish You can add a splash of white wine to the sauce if you want to jazz it up a little, but for a regular, family friendly dish I’ve left it out Most ready-made pastry is vegan, so if you use Alpro soya cream you can happily feed this to vegans, and the flavour is just as good.

Roasted Celeriac and Butternut Squash Pie

Serves 4

1 large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks

1 celeriac, peeled and cut into chunks

Olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 leek, cut into half rounds

4 sticks celery, finely chopped

1 bulb fennel, finely chopped

1 punnet of chestnut mushrooms, quartered

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Generous tsp dried thyme

A little Bisto or cornflour

With Easter coming up, I thought this month I would give you a recipe that uses up leftovers but has a feeling of indulgence at the same time If you have made hot cross buns and have some left over these are perfect for this, which is a variation on bread-and-butter pudding No leftovers? I cheat and buy a pack of buns from the supermarket which will do just as well Add in some eggs (not the Easter variety!) milk and a little cream and you are nearly done This pudding will easily serve 6 people

Hot Cross Bun Pudding

New:

5 Courses from within 25 miles

Small carton cream (or soya cream if vegan)

1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry

Start by tossing your squash and celeriac cubes in a little olive oil, season and roast for around 30 minutes on 190° until starting to brown and cooked through Meanwhile, gently fry the onion, leek, celery and fennel in a little olive oil for 10 mins until softening, then add in the mushrooms and garlic Season with salt and pepper and the dried thyme and cook gently for a further 5 minutes Add in a little boiling water to form a sauce, and thicken with either a little Bisto or cornflour, and stir to combine it all Pour in some cream and check your seasoning Once the roasted veg are ready, add them in and gently stir to combine, then pour it all into an ovenproof dish Unroll the pastry and use it to top the pie, sealing the edges well, and make a slit in the middle Brush with a little milk, and pop back into the oven for approximately ½ an hour, until the top is golden and risen Serve with creamy mash and seasonal veg

You will need a deep round baking dish approx 25cm wide

Ingredients

200ml double cream

400ml whole milk

3 eggs

75g castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp Cointreau (optional) zest of 1 orange

50g butter, softened

7 or 8 hot cross buns sliced in half

4 tbsp marmalade

Method

Heat your oven to 160C/140 Fan/Gas 3 and place a heavy baking sheet in the oven to heat up. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and heat to just below a simmer In a large bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar together with the orange zest and Cointreau, if using Carefully whisk in the milk mixture (make sure it is not too hot or the eggs will scramble) Butter the hot cross buns and spread with marmalade and sandwich back together, keep 1 bun whole and cut the others in half the other way so that you have semi-circular pieces. Place the whole bun in the centre of your baking dish and arrange the halves in a circle around the whole bun Pour over your custard and leave the buns to absorb the custard for 15 minutes, gently pressing them down into the custard Place in the oven on the baking tray and cook for 35 - 40 minutes until golden brown and the custard is set Leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving with a little cream or ice cream.