John's squash and stilton filo pie
It might be the staple ingredient of a Christmas dinner but not everyone's into turkey, so John Whaite is cooking up a delicious meat-free alternative.
(Serves 6 as a main, 8 as a starter)
Ingredients:
3 sheets filo pastry, thawed if frozen50g unsalted butter, melted1 medium butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 2cm diceOilSea salt flakesCoarse black pepper300g baby leaf rocket½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg75g walnuts, roughly chopped100g Saint Agur cheese2 large eggs4tbsp cranberry sauce200g frozen cranberries
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6
Unroll the filo pastry and pile 3 sheets up – wrap the rest up tightly in cling and chill or freeze for another time
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Paint one sheet of filo with a little melted butter and place it, butter side down into a 20cm sandwich/cake tin. Leave the excess pastry hanging over the edge. Repeat with the remaining sheets of filo, placing each at slightly different angles in the tin.
Toss the chunks of squash in a little oil and salt and pepper, then spread out onto a large roasting tray (you may need to do this on 2 trays) and roast until tender and lightly coloured – about 35-40 minutes.
Meanwhile wilt the rocket. Put it into a large saucepan or casserole with a splash of oil and set over a medium heat. Stirring, allow the rocket to wilt down completely. Remove from the pan and allow to cool, then squeeze tightly in a clean tea towel to remove all excess moisture. Roughly chop the rocket.
Add the cooled squash to a mixing bowl along with the prepared rocket. Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper, the nutmeg and walnuts. Crumble in the cheese then add the eggs and mix everything together with a wooden spoon or clean hands until more or less evenly incorporated. Pile this filling into the lined cake tin, pressing it down gently.
Heat the cranberry sauce in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of water. When runny, remove from the heat and stir in the frozen cranberries. Pour on top of the pie, distributing as evenly as possible, then fold the excess pastry up and slightly over the cranberries – don’t cover it completely, just scrunch the pastry up around the edge.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, then remove and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with traditional Christmas trimming vegetables.