I love a pie. 

I think it's something that's limited to our neck of the woods as well. Us who inhabit this strange island.

I've been to a good few different countries and never have I seen 'Pie' on the menu. Maybe I'm looking hard enough though. 

It's such a versatile thing as well. pastry topped pie, double crust pie, hand held pie, hot water crust pie, potato topped pie, hotpot and so on.

We just appear to be pie mad and I'm no exception. 

So, the other evening, there I was 'working' away in my office, (how covid changed the world eh?), when my mind went to thoughts of pie.

However, it was nice and sunny and sort of warm out so it didn't seem an appropriate meal choice but my heart was set on it. 

So when I should have actually been doing my day job I developed this instead. A nice light 'summer' pie. I imagine I could change this up a little and thicken the filling to make this a nice hand held pie for a picnic. 

Was really nice AND I would strongly recommend you make the filling a day before as after sitting in the fridge for 24 hours the leftovers were out of this world!!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Special Equipment - Pie Dish

Serves 4

Price per portion:

Pie - £1.49

Asparagus - 64p

Pasta Salad - 35p

Ingredients:

1 kg mixed ripe tomatoes (I used vine and baby plum) 

2 onions, finely sliced

1 aubergine, diced 

6 garlic cloves, crushed 

2 tsp oregano 

1/2 tsp sugar

3 tablespoons olive oil 

320 g (11 oz) sheet ready-rolled vegan puff pastry 

salt and pepper 

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), Gas Mark 5. 

Toss together the tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, sugar and olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Transfer to a roasting tray.

Roast for 40 minutes until everything is starting to colour and reduce in volume a little. 

Transfer the filling to the pie dish and allow to cool.

Once cooled lay the pastry on top of the filling and crimp round the edges or seal with a fork. You can also brush with a little olive oil or plant milk to get a nice colour although that's not essential.

Cut a little hole in the middle of the pastry to allow any steam to escape and feel free to make a random pattern with the trimmings and arrange on top of the pastry (as you may have noticed I love to add a few wee 'leaves' to my pies) 

Bake the pie for 30 minutes or so until the pastry is golden brown.

Serve with the asparagus and pasta salad if using, or a big pile of potato salad would also be a lovely thing to serve this with.

Enjoy!