Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

Who could say no to a piping hot, freshly baked pie. Tender pieces of “chicken”, along with slices of cooked onion and leek, in a creamy garlic and herb sauce. No need to miss out on pies when you’re vegan!

Yield; Four servings Cook time; One hour

You’ll need;

1. 45g/1.5oz non dairy margarine
2. 45g/1.5oz plain, all purpose flour
3. 500ml unsweetened warmed non dairy milk
4. One tablespoon of dried parsley
5. One tablespoon of dried tarragon
6. 250g/7oz ready made shortcrust pastry
7. 300g/10.5oz “chicken” style pieces
8. One leek, sliced
9. One brown onion, sliced
10. Three cloves of garlic, minced

Method;

• Heat the margarine in a small saucepan over a low to medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk for four minutes.
• Add the milk, a little at a time, until it’s all incorporated and the sauce has thickened. Once thickened, add the parsley and tarragon, then set aside to cool.
• Next, in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion, garlic and leek. Cover with a lid and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Add the “chicken” style pieces to the vegetables, cover with the lid and cook for a further five minutes. Then remove from the heat.
• Stir the sauce through the cooked vegetable and “chicken” mixture. Spread the mixture into an oven proof dish.
• On a floured surface, roll out the pastry until it’s about half a centimeter thick. Lay it over the dish and use a knife to cut off the excess.
• Pierce the pastry to allow steam to escape. With the extra pastry scraps, you could make leaves as I did, to decorate the pie. Brush the pastry with a little non-dairy milk and bake for 20-25 minutes at 200ºC/180ºC fan assisted/350ºF, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Serve with vegetables and boiled or mashed potato for a comforting dinner.

Tips;

1. The chicken pieces I used were from Tesco. They used to contain egg, but recently they changed the recipe and now they’re suitable for vegans.
2. Many supermarkets offer their own ready made pastry, that is accidentally suitable for vegans. There are also many products in the JusRol range that are suitable for vegans, and clearly labeled so.