Layered vegetable pie with basil infused pastry

It’s the first full week of March, which can mean only one thing. Drumroll please: it’s British Pie Week! Hurrah! I can’t think of many foods that are so delicious, comforting and versatile as a good pastry pie.

To celebrate British Pie Week, I’ve teamed up with British Gas to bring you the gorgeous, layered vegetable pie you see above, but before we get started on the recipe, I have something rather cool to share.

British Gas has informed me that Britain’s top pie fillings are steak, vegetable, chicken, pork and apple. “Surely not all in one pie?” I hear you cry. Well not usually, no. However, British Gas enlisted John Whaite’s help in creating the nation’s ‘Smartest Pie’, using all five favourite fillings and John nailed it!

Have a watch of this video of his amazing creation below.

Isn’t that cool? Now there’s a pie I could happily eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

You probably noticed lots of great energy saving tips in John’s video. And there are more! Here’s the full list:

1. Pan-frying meat on the hob uses less energy than braising it in the oven – and is a lot quicker.
2. Microwaves generally use 10% less energy than a conventional oven, so use the microwave whenever possible – such as when softening vegetables.
3. Cutting food into small pieces helps it cook faster, meaning your steak or chicken will need less time in the pan and will therefore take less energy to cook.
4. If you want your water or mixture to heat up faster, put a lid on the pan. It will heat up quicker as the heat is kept in and won’t need as much energy.
5. Make sure the pan is the right size for your cooking ring. If you’re cooking with gas, only use the flame on the hob that fits the size of the pan. Also make sure the flame sits in the middle of the pan – this will help save gas and also stops the handle from getting hot and burning your hand!
6. Turn the oven off a few (5-10) minutes early, while your food is still in there. The oven will stay hot for this time and continue to cook your dish, while avoiding unnecessary energy use.
7. Don’t keep the oven door open for long while food is cooking – the heat inside will escape and cause the oven to cool, meaning you’ll need to keep the pie in there for even longer.
8. When making hot water crust pastry, simply boil only the amount of water you actually need in the kettle, before adding to the fat. The heat from the boiling water will be enough to melt the fat completely and you can then start working the flour in.
9. There’s no need to pre-cook the apple slices when making apple pie. Simply bake them with the pastry and they’ll still turn out lovely and soft, plus you’ll have saved the energy you would have used when stewing them first.

There are some great, simple, easy to action tips there, and even more general tips on the British Gas website. So, to put them to the test, I developed this deliciously flavourful vegetable pie, complete with beautifully aromatic basil infused pastry.

The ingredients mean it’s a great winter warmer or summer dish, and is delicious hot or cold. Not only that, but it’s made as energy efficiently as possible, which means you can save a few pennies every time you make it,  and you get to help the environment out too. Let’s bake!

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 400g plain flour
• 200g slightly salted butter, cold and cubed
• 2 medium free range eggs
• 25g fresh basil, stalks removed
• Up to 50 ml of cold water

For the filling:

• 3 courgettes
• 400g button mushrooms
• 1 aubergine
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 400g garlic and herb passata

You’ll also need a 23 cm loose bottomed pie dish

Instructions

Tip the flour and butter into a food processor and blitz together until you have a crumb.

Add the first egg and blitz.

Add the second egg along with the basil and blitz again.

Add water if needed to help the pastry blend – it should then come together as a soft dough.

Divide the pastry so you have roughly two-thirds in one ball and one-third in the other.

Wrap the pastry balls in clingfilm and place in the fridge to firm up while you make the filling.

Using a mandolin, sharp knife or vegetable peeler, slice all the vegetables as thinly as you can. This won’t just help to cook the vegetables evenly, but faster too. Put each set of vegetable slices in separate microwave safe bowls.

Season the vegetables with salt and pepper then drizzle with 1tbsp olive oil per bowl. Microwave on a high for 3-5 minutes per bowl until everything is cooked through. This will use at least 10% less energy compared to cooking it in the oven.

Press out at much liquid as possible from each of the vegetable bowls – this will help to ensure your pie isn’t soggy. You can save the liquid for stock, if you wish.

Retrieve the larger ball of pastry and place it on a floured surface.

Roll out flat so that it’s at least a couple of inches wider than your pie tin all the way round.

Carefully transfer your pastry to the bottom the pie dish, press to cover the base evenly. If any holes appear, repair them with a little extra pastry. Do not trim the overhanging pastry yet.

Use half the courgette to form your first layer.

Followed by half of the mushrooms

And then half of the aubergine, aiming each time for evenly spread layers.

Top with half of the passata.

Repeat with another layer of the courgette, mushrooms and aubergine.

Top with the remaining passata and smooth over the top.

Switch your oven on to 200C/390F (180C/355F fan) and place a baking tray on the middle shelf.

Roll the remaining pastry out until you have a round slightly larger than the dish and lay it on the top of the pie.

Press a fork all the way round to seal the edges, then cut away the spare with a sharp knife.

You can use some of the pastry offcuts to make whatever decorations you fancy. I went with some leaves to highlight the basil in the crust.

Affix the leaves with a little egg wash and then brush the egg wash all over the pastry. Finally cut a few slits through to the filling for steam to escape.

Place your pie on top of the hot baking tray in the oven for 35 minutes, then turn the oven off and let the pie continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. The oven will retain a lot of heat, meaning you can finish off the pie without using any more energy.

Ta da, your finished pie, ready to enjoy.

If you’d like to print this recipe, just click ‘PRINT’ on the recipe card below.

To help make your energy bill even lower, British Gas is also starting to introduce their smart meters into UK homes. Smart meters offer a simple way to see how much gas and electricity is being used in real time, so you can be really smart about how you use energy in your home. What’s more, using a smart meter means you can avoid any estimated bills – the amount used will always be bang-on. And because the info is also shared with energy suppliers automatically, it also means no more metre readings. Hurrah!

Let me know if you have a smart meter and how it’s working for you. Oh, and definitely let me know if you try my vegetable pie, or if you have a go at any other pie during the week, or indeed if you have any energy-saving tips of your own.

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This is a commissioned post for British Gas