Halloween 🎃 'Jack Skellington veggie pot pie'

Halloween is just around the corner, so as promised here's the recipe for my ‘Jack Skellington veggie pot pie'. This is a super simple dish that is packed to the brim with delicious vegetables. You can also easily adapt it to use up whatever veg you have in the fridge for a lovely autumn/winter warming family meal. 🎃👻🦇💀✨You can use the basics of this recipe to create whatever kind of pie you like - sweet or savoury -  it's up to you.

Veggie Pot Pie (serves 4)

Recipe by Holly Anderson

Hollytreekitchen.com

Allergy info: gluten free, sugar free, suitable for vegans, low fodmap and nut free option. 

Ingredients

1 pack of gluten free pastry (I use silly yak)

Garlic infused oil

2 medium spring onions (thinly sliced- green part only)

1/2 medium butternut squash  

2 carrots (finely diced)

1 courgette (grated)

2 parsnips (roughly chopped)

3 potatoes - I used Maris pipers (diced into 1 cm cubes)

Small handful of green beans

3 tbsp gluten free flour (I use brown rice flour)

3 cups vegetable stock (I use Fody foods)

2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or nut free alternative) 

Herbs to taste: I used herbs de Provence, fresh parsley and fresh sage

2 tbsp of nutritional yeast

Salt and cracked black pepper

Note: If low fodmap is not required, add whatever extra veg you like. Peas, sweetcorn, sweet potato, pumpkin etc. 

Method 

Add a drizzle of garlic infused oil to a large pan over a medium heat. Add the vegetables, sauté and sweat out for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the flour and herbs, stir so that the veg is coated then add the stock and almond milk. Bring to the boil then reduce to a low-medium heat and simmer, stirring regularly, for approx 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and the liquid has reduced and thickened. Stir in the nutritional yeast and season with salt, pepper and more herbs to taste.

Pour into a pie dish and leave to one side to cool slightly. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and follow the instructions for shortcrust pastry. (If that's not an option with the one you're using, it will still work with gluten free puff pastry). Gluten free pastry can be a little tricky to handle so roll out between two lightly floured sheets of greaseproof paper until it's large enough to cover your pie dish. Remove the top layer of paper. Flip the pastry on to the pie dish and peel off the other sheet of paper.

Secure the edges by lightly pressing into the grooves of the pie dish then cut away any excess that's hanging over the sides.

Now it's time to get creative. I used a sharp knife to cut a very simple jack skellington design removing the cut pastry from the eyes, nose and mouth.

Feel free to make any design you want - I'm excited to see what you guys create so remember to tag @hollytreekitchen on instagram in your posts so I can see them. 

Brush the top with a little almond milk and a sprinkle of salt then bake in the oven for approx 30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through, and beautifully golden brown.

Serve with seasonal greens and mashed potatoes for a hearty, comforting autumn/winter evening meal.