Al's roasted vegetable pot pie

Use whatever veggies you fancy.  As long as they roast, they can be used.  It would be lovely with some chunks of chicken or other leftover meat.  You don't need anything else on the side; it is filling and absolutely delicious.

This was made for a friend with food allergies/intolerances, hence the lack of things like mushrooms and garlic, but it is very adaptable.

You could use roasted veg leftovers for a Meatless Monday Meal!  Just cut out the first stage.  Leftover gravy doesn't happen very often but, if you had some, use that!

Ingredients to serve 2
one small sweet potato
one carrot
half a smallish leek
one parsnip
one medium onion
some veg oil for baking

for the sauce
Marigold vegetable bouillon*
some thickening granules
a dollop of soft cheese (Morrisons value)
a pinch of mixed herbs

for the pastry
140g plain flour (I used savers as I always do nowadays)
pinch of salt
35g Trex (it needed to be vegetarian - I gather lard makes the best pastry!)
35g butter
a little milk for glazing

Method
Put the oil in a roasting dish and pop into the oven.  Heat the oven to around 180C

While the oven is heating, peel and chunk the carrot and pop into the roasting dish, stir in the oil and roast the carrot for about 30 mins because carrot takes longer to roast that the other veg.
The chunks are to your own liking.  Mine weren't too big.

Peel and chunk the other veg.  Keep the parsnip and sweet potato in water until ready to roast.
Pop the veg in the roasting dish with the carrot.  Stir well until they are all covered with oil and put back in the oven for another 20 to 30 mins until they are all soft.

Then make the pastry.  Rub the fat into the flour and salt until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Add three tbsp very cold water and mix gently until it comes together.  Shape into a ball, wrap and pop it into the fridge for half an hour.

Make the sauce by adding water to a good tbsp Marigold powder in a sauce pan, bring to a simmer, add some thickening granules until it is the thickness you want, then add some soft cheese.  The idea is to get something you can pour over the vegetables, cover with pastry and bake!  Too thin and it will make the pastry wet, too thick and it will be dry and unappetising.  The vegetables do absorb some of the sauce.  I didn't add salt as the stock is well seasoned.

When the vegetables are cooked, spoon them into a couple of oven proof individual dishes (or you can make one larger pie)  Mine were oval, as you can see in the photo, but use whatever you have really!
Pour over the gravy.
Roll out the chilled pastry and cut to the size you need.  I used a third dish as a template so the top fitted exactly.
Top the veg/sauce with the pastry.  Cut a criss cross in the middle and brush over some milk.  I used not to bother but it does make the pastry look tastier.  However, I resent using a whole egg when just a bit is needed so milk it has to be!

Put the dishes on a baking sheet (in case of spills) and bake in the oven at between 180 and 200 C until the sauce is bubbling and the pastry is cooked and a 'golden' brown.  Mine took 40 mins.

I served them in the dishes they were baked in, on a plate.  Nothing else needed.  They were delicious and filling and dead easy!



* Marigold bouillon powder is not cheap, there's no denying that.  However, it is tasty and you can use just what you want rather than having to chop up a stock cube or a stock pot.  I reckon it is better value in the longer term.  Not using it would be penny wise, pound foolish for me!
However, any stock can be used in this recipe.  It's the taste for the sauce that is important.