Christmas Leftover Pie

If you are anything like me, one of the best things about entering a new year is the sense of a fresh start, sweeping the slate clean and kicking back into life anew. An aspect of this is the literal cleaning of your space, whether it be your bedroom, garden, or kitchen. But I beg you, all those wonderful vegetables you bought over Christmas - the parsnips, sprouts, carrots, all of those beautiful, seasonal vegetables - do not be tempted to throw them away! While your compost may welcome them, I want to suggest a tastier way of using up all your leftover Christmas veggies.

Inspired by a recipe from Gill Meller’s captivating Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower, the true delight of this recipe is how adaptable it is. I have provided ingredients and their quantities here, as a baseline of sorts, but feel free to throw them out the window and use whatever overlooked leftovers you have lying around into this pie. Mixed with honey and balsamic vinegar, before being wrapped up in the deep and nutty flavours of the pastry, this is truly one of the most comforting and satisfying ways to consume the last of your Christmas leftovers. I definitely entered 2021 happier and with a fuller stomach!

Serves 4-6

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For the filling:

3 parsnips

5 carrots

2 medium potatoes

1/2 butternut squash

2 leeks

9 garlic cloves

400g sprouts

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp honey

4 rosemary sprigs

1 tsp English mustard

50g cheese

Milk

For the pastry:

100g wholemeal bread flour

100g plain flour

50g wholemeal spelt flour

50g wholemeal rye flour

150g butter, cold

1. To make the pastry, combine the flours and coldbutter in a food processor until breadcrumbs start to form. Once you see that taking place, slowly add cold water until it almost comes together into a ball. This usually happens after adding 100 to 150ml of liquid. Remove from the food processor and knead by hand for a minute or so until it begins to relax under your hand. Seal in a sandwich bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 220°C/430°F.

3. Roughly cube your root vegetables and cut your leeks into 1-inch rounds. Parboil your root vegetables for 10 minutes, until they are just starting to go soft. We don’t want them going mushy in the following stages, so go easy on them now. Make sure you save the cooking liquid, as this is a wonderful vegetable stock!!

4. Cook your leeks in a little olive oil and butter over low heat until they go soft. Add four crushed cloves of garlic, and cook for a further five minutes. Add a splash of water and put aside for later.

5. In a bowl, mixed the parboiled root vegetables with the prepared sprouts and five whole cloves of garlic. Dress with a good glug of olive oil and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well so everything glistens with olive oil, then spread onto a large baking tray. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, until they begin to brown.

6. Remove the vegetables from the oven and pour over them another tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of runny honey, or enough to glaze them all after mixing them up. Slide back into the oven for another 15 minutes.

7. At this stage, remove the pastry from the fridge so it has a chance to warm back up slightly and relax.

8. After 15 minutes, remove the vegetables from the oven, take the garlic cloves out and put aside, and mix in another tablespoon of honey and the finely chopped rosemary. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until nicely golden.

9. Turn the oven down to 180°C/355°F.

10. Line a 25cm round pie dish with baking parchment. Roll out the pastry nice and thin, larger than the pie dish you can have that classic galette partial crust. Gently press into the pie dish, so it fits nicely into the bottom of the dish.

11. Take the root vegetables out of the oven, and mix in a bowl with the leek and garlic mixture, English mustard, grated cheese, and the squeezed roast garlic flesh. Taste for the final seasoning, then spoon into the pastry-lined pie dish, making sure to press it down firmly. Dab the pastry with some milk, then cook in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes until the pastry has gone a gorgeous golden tint.