A vegetarian Christmas treat from Scandinavian chef Signe Johansen .It can be scaled down for two to three people.Use one sheet of filo per person and either make smaller pies, using a large muffin tin tray or small pastry tins, or simply place the filling in the middle of the pastry and fold over each layer, making sure to brush oil or melted butter on the exterior and base of the filo so it bakes to a crisp, golden finish.
Ingredients
- olive oil or cooking oil of choice
- melted butter for greasing and/or brushing the pastry (optional)
- 3 leeks roughly chopped
- Salt and white or black pepper
- 300 g mixed wild mushrooms (porcini, chanterelles, ceps, etc) or chestnut or portobello mushrooms, plus a few soaked dried porcini, roughly chopped
- 300 g roasted and peeled chestnuts roughly chopped
- leaves A few fresh thyme sprigs picked – save the stalks for the pumpkin side below
- 1 big glass white wine
- 250 g ricotta
- 300 g Stilton crumbled
- nutmeg for grating
- 6 sheets ready-made filo pastry
- Poppy sesame, fennel and/or caraway seeds, to garnish
- honey for drizzling (optional)
Servings:
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6. Grease a 22cm round cake tin (with a detachable ring, ideally) with oil or a good layer of melted butter.
- Warm three tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, add the leeks and a good pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, over a low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Remove from the pan, turn up the heat to medium-high, pour in two tablespoons of oil, then add the chopped mushrooms. Season generously with salt and saute for five to 10 minutes, until they’ve caramelised slightly, lost some of their excess liquid and shed their spongy rawness.
- Stir the chestnuts and thyme into the mushroom pan, add the wine and crank up the heat to high for a minute or two, so the alcohol burns off.
- Stir in the cooked leeks (if the original saute pan isn’t quite tall enough, transfer everything to a taller saucepan, so you can mix the filling without it spilling out), followed by the ricotta, and stir to mix evenly.
- Add the stilton and a good dusting of nutmeg, stir and taste for seasoning: there should be a good balance between the flavours of the leeks, mushrooms, cheese and a little acidity from the wine. If it’s still quite savoury, add a spoonful of honey to round out the flavours, then season with your pepper of choice.
- When you’re ready to bake the pie, gently take one filo sheet lightly brush the top with melted butter. Place it unbrushed side down in the cake tin, allowing the edges to drape over the sides.
- Repeat with the remaining filo, slightly turning the tin a few degrees after each addition, so the overhanging filo is neatly distributed.
- Spoon in the cooked filling, fold over the filo overhang, brush with a little more oil or melted butter and, once the filling is covered, lightly scrunch the tips to create a frilly effect. Check that the pastry tips are all oiled, then scatter the seeds on top.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Leave to rest for 20 or so minutes, then unclip the tin and carefully lift the pie on to a serving plate.
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