Winter sort of did a sneak attack this year. I thought it arrived back in October, so I wasn’t prepared for this week’s CRAZY COLD SNAP! Nae bother! All can be fixed with PIE!
This bad boy is basically how I remember chicken and mushroom pies tasting. It’s creamy A F, like some sort of comfort food angel with a crispy pastry hat. I leave my mushrooms chunky and use dried chanterelles to ensure a bit of chewy texture - it helps to satisfy those expecting to find some chicken in there. The tarragon also does a neat little trick of convincing the brain that there’s some chicky in there. BUT THERE AINT! Just good, hearty vegetables and some sweet sweet compassion!
Oh and the aubergine bacon!! It adds so much depth and smokiness. It takes some time to make but is totally worth it, plus you can store whatever is left of the bacon strips to make VEGAN PIGS IN BLANKETS! Shove a cocktail stick in ME! I’m done!
Makes one 16x23cm pie
Creamy Mushroom, Leek and Smokey Bacon Pie
Ingredients
For the Bacon
- ½ medium aubergine
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon miso paste (I use brown rice miso)
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
For the Filling
- 40 g vegan butter (I use baking block or stork)
- 1 medium white onion (chopped finely)
- 2 large garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 medium leek (washed, halved lengthways and chopped into half moons)
- 200 g closed cup mushrooms (quartered or chopped into large chunks)
- 10 g dried chanterelles or wild mushrooms (rehydrated in boiling water for 20 minutes)
- ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 350 ml oat milk
- 1 veg stock pot (or 2tbsp bouillon powder)
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped finely)
- 3 tablespoon oatly creme fraiche (or vegan cream cheese)
For the Puff Pastry
- One pack of pre-rolled puff pastry
- 2 tablespoon oat milk
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
For the Bacon
- Preheat the oven to 150c and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
- Slice the aubergine using a mandolin set to around 4mm thickness.
- Combine all the other marinade ingredients in an airtight Tupperware container and shake vigorously to combine.
- Dip each individual strip of aubergine in the marinade and place on the baking tray. Put in the oven for 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the strips and brush with more marinade.
- Remove from the oven after the full 20 mins. The strips should be slightly crispy on the edges and juicy in the middle. Leave to cool for ten minutes. Slice each “rasher” width ways into ½cm strips. Set aside.
For the Filling
- Throw 20g of vegan butter into a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry until soft and turning translucent.
- Next add the chopped leek, the chopped mushrooms and the rehydrated mushrooms. Cook until the leek has softened nicely and the mushrooms have begun to shrink (approx 10 mins).
- Add the dried herbs and cook for another minute. Add the flour and stir to coat all the vegetables.
- Turn the heat to low and slowly add the oat milk, the stock pot and the nutritional yeast. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Finally stir in the parsley the creme fraiche and the chopped aubergine bacon you made earlier. Leave to cool for ten minutes before adding to the baking dish.
To Finish off the Pie
- Preheat the oven to 200c.
- Wet the rim of the baking dish with some water. Unroll the puff pastry and place on top of the dish. Crimp the edges.
- Mix together all the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk. This is your eggless egg wash. Brush the pastry with the egg wash then score along the top in a diamond formation (be sure not to cut right through the pastry. You only want to score it). Form a small steam hole in the centre of the pastry.
- Place the pie in the oven for around 20 minutes. You may need to spin the pie halfway through to ensure even browning.
- I served with roast potatoes. No gravy needed cuz it’s SOOOO juicy.
Surya
Wow. Dude this recipe was so fire. Like its stupid how good this is. I tried making zucchini bacon bc Im allergic to aubergine. Mega fail. wasn't crispy just mushy. So I nixed that idea. I added lentils for protein and I had half a bag of frozen veggies (carrots n peas n whatever) so I added that. But fuegoooooo. I'd never cooked w tarragon before. Smells like licorice but tastes like chicken? weird but love it. 10/10 bro. I am a happy quarantined vegan. Bless u
Surya
Wow. Dude this recipe was so fire. Like its stupid how good this is. I tried making zucchini bacon bc Im allergic to aubergine. Mega fail. wasn't crispy just mushy. So I nixed that idea. I added lentils for protein and I had half a bag of frozen veggies (carrots n peas n whatever) so I added that. But fuegoooooo. I'd never cooked w tarragon before. Smells like licorice but tastes like chicken? weird but love it. 10/10 bro. I am a happy quarantined vegan. Bless u
Clare
Delish recipe
Jana
This recipe is fantastic! Everyone at the table was like "OMG this is sooo good..." with every single bite. I made some potato wedges as a sode dish. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes! <3
Maria
Yet another amazing recipe 😋😋