A delicious pie is the perfect dish for using up leftovers, especially when it comes to meat or vegetables from a roast dinner.
This recipe for “humble pie” by Mary Berry blends a creamy cheese sauce with healthy vegetables all topped with a puff pastry sheet.
While the chef’s original formula – which debuted in her cookbook “Mary Makes It Easy” – calls for cauliflower, mushrooms, leek and peas, it lends itself to some interpretation.
Almost any cold vegetables will work perfectly in this dish, as long as they’re well suited to the creamy sauce. Think broccoli, potatoes, or similar.
According to Mary, the pie takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and “feels like a real treat”, despite being super easy to make.
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C then make a start on preparing the vegetables. If using them from cooked, ensure they are fully cooled and everything is cut into even-sized chunks, then set aside for later.
If cooking the vegetables from scratch, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil then add the leeks. Cook these for four minutes before adding cauliflower florets and leaves, then return to the boil for three minutes until tender.
Drain and rinse under cold water, then drain again and set aside. Now, move on to the cheese sauce by melting butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir for one minute then add the hot milk gradually, whisking until thick.
Stir in the mustard, two cheese and plenty of salt and pepper then allow the sauce to cool for five minutes. Meanwhile, finish the vegetable filling.
Heat a knob of butter in a pan over high heat then add the mushrooms. When golden, season with salt and pepper then set aside to cool. Add all the cold vegetables and frozen peas to the cheese sauce, then stir to check the seasoning.
Spoon the filling into a lightly greased pie dish (28cm diameter or three pints). Roll out the pastry to slightly bigger than the top of the dish before brushing the beaten egg around the edge of the dish.
Place the pastry sheet on top and press down on the edges to seal then trim the excess. Make a small centre slit to allow steam to escape and brush the top with beaten egg.
Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the sauce bubbles around the edges.
