In today’s post I’m sharing a recipe for a delicious pie that’s just perfect for serving in the cold weather months. It’s an adaptation of a recipe published by the Vegetarian Society back in 1995. We first tried this pie last month and it was a big hit with the family. Since then, we’ve already eaten it a couple more times as special weekend dinners. While it looks pretty impressive, it’s really easy to make and requires less than 30 minutes hands on time.
The original recipe states that it serves 4-6 people but we must be greedy guzzlers as we devoured the whole pie between the three of us. When I made it again, I increased the filling quantities just to make sure there was enough for 4.
The base of the filling is a rich gravy, flavoured with red wine, stock, herbs, mustard and soy sauce. Since I don’t drink wine, I buy one of these cute 500ml bottles.
As you may already know, not all wines are vegan, or even vegetarian. When filtering wine (or beer) some companies use products such as isinglass (from fish bladders), gelatin, egg whites or sea shells as filtering agents. Companies can also add products such as dairy and honey into the final recipe. Fortunately there are plenty of vegan wines and beers available in our shops.
UK supermarkets are getting better at labelling their wines vegetarian or vegan. At the present time, the Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Ocado websites are the easiest to use, as they state if a wine is suitable for vegetarians and/or vegans in their lifestyle/dietary choice tabs. There is also Barnivore, an online directory which lists all vegan beers, wines and spirits.
The original VegSoc recipe calls for 250g chestnuts, however the most common brand of cooked chestnuts in the UK (Merchant Gourmet) comes in a 187g pack. Since chestnuts are quite expensive, rather than buying a second pack and only using a portion of it, I reduced the quantity of chestnuts and bumped up the volume of chestnut mushrooms instead. I also added some thinly sliced carrot for an extra dimension of texture and flavour.
If you’re gluten-free, Jus-Rol are now selling a GF Vegan puff pastry sheet. I spotted it for sale in Tesco and Ocado. I haven’t tried it myself yet but, if you have, I’d love to hear what you think of it.
Recipe Card
Chestnut and Mushroom Bourguignon Pie (Vegan with Gluten Free Option)
Ingredients
- 25 g / 1½ TBSP dairy-free spread/vegan butter
- 3 small red onions (about 250g) thinly sliced
- 250 g / 3 cups chestnut (or crimini) mushrooms quartered or halved (depending on size)
- 180 g / 1 heaping cup pre-cooked chestnuts halved
- 187 ml / ¾ cup vegan red wine
- 300 ml vegetable stock (broth)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 TBSP tamari or reduced-salt soy sauce
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 puff pastry sheet (about 300g / 10½ oz) thawed if frozen (use GF puff pastry, if needed)
- soya milk for glazing
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 220C (200C fan) / 425 F.
- Melt the dairy-free spread/butter in a large frying pan (skillet) and cook the onions on low/medium heat until lightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 4 minutes.
- Add the chestnuts, red wine, stock (broth), bay leaves, dried herbs, mustard and tamari/soy sauce.
- Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced somewhat.
- Remove the bay leaves. Add black pepper to taste.
- Spoon the mixture into a large pie dish or four individual/mini pie dishes.
- Place the pastry on top. Leave a good margin hanging over the sides as the pastry will shrink as it cooks. Use a fork to press the pastry onto the rim of the dish to seal it. Use any leftover pastry to cut out some leaf shapes and arrange on top of the pie. Brush the pastry with soya milk. Pierce a couple of holes in the pastry to allow the steam to escape.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.
- If baked in a large pie dish, I recommend removing the pastry top, placing on a chopping board and slicing into four equal pieces. Spoon the filling onto plates and arrange the pastry on top. This way, you can cut the pastry neatly without it pushing down into the filling and becoming soggy.
- Serve the pie with one or two veggie side dishes. We love to serve it with steamed baby carrots and steamed tenderstem broccoli tossed in a little soy sauce, or some sweet potato wedges. I also think potato mash or butter bean puree could work well with it.
Notes
If you make this Vegan Chestnut and Mushroom Bourguignon Pie, I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media – I always love to see your creations! You can also connect with me on my social media channels here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest.
With love,
Sharon xx