Vegan mushroom pie

🥘 Ingredients

• olive oil 1 tbsp
• shallots 3
• garlic 6 cloves
• thyme leaves 1 tbsp
• chopped rosemary leaves ½ tbsp
• salt 1 tsp
• ground black pepper ¼ tsp
• olive oil 1 tbsp
• mushrooms 750 g
• salt 1 tsp
• ground black pepper ¼ tsp
• olive oil 1 tbsp
• aged balsamic 30 ml
• cashews 100 g
• nutritional yeast 3 tbsp
• tapioca starch 2 tsp
• salt 1 tsp
• ground black pepper ¼ tsp
• water 135 ml
• vegan puff pastry 320 g
• breadcrumbs 25 g
• breadcrumbs 25 g
• plant milk 2 tbsp
• maple syrup 1 tsp
• soy sauce ½ tsp
• sesame ?
• poppy seeds ?
• nigella seeds ?

1. 1

   Heat up olive oil in a large frying pan . Add shallots and sauté on a low flame for a few minutes, before adding in garlic and thyme leaves and chopped rosemary leaves .
2. 2

   Sauté shallots and garlic until softened and fragrant, season with salt and ground black pepper . Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. 3

   Heat up another olive oil in the same pan (no need to wash it) and add about a third of mushrooms . Coat them in the oil and let them cook slowly, stirring from time to time.
4. 4

   Once the first batch of mushrooms looks more or less cooked (shrunk and dark brown), add another third, and once the second one looks cooked, add the last third. Season with a bit of salt and ground black pepper . Skip to step 7 while waiting.
5. 5

   Once all of the mushrooms are cooked and all of the excess liquid cooks out, return the fried shallots and garlic to the pan and add another olive oil .
6. 6

   Cook for another 5 minutes to caramelise, then add aged balsamic to the pan. Cook for a further 1 minute before switching the heat off.
7. 7

   Whizz drained cashews , nutritional yeast , tapioca starch , a good pinch of salt and ground black pepper , and water in a mini blender until smooth.
8. 8

   Transfer the mixture to a new pan and whisk on low heat until the mixture has thickened and becomes a little stretchy (about 2-3 minutes ).
9. 9

   Add the cheese mixture to the mushroom mixture and mix the two together. Cool down completely.
10. 10

    Remove the vegan puff pastry out of the fridge 10 minutes before assembly.
11. 11

    Place rolled out dough (keep it on its backing paper) on the table ahead of you so that the longer edge is parallel to you.
12. 12

    Cut a piece of pastry about 16 cm / 6.25 inches as a bottom of the pie and another slightly larger (18 cm / 7 inches wide) piece as a lid. My pastry was 23 cm / 9 inches deep; yours might be a bit different, that's ok.
13. 13

    Sprinkle breadcrumbs all over the base of the pie, leaving a margin of approximately 1.25 cm / 0.5 inch all around for sealing.
14. 14

    Heap the filling on top of the breadcrumbs into a shapely mound, then sprinkle more breadcrumbs on top of it (they keep the pastry from getting soggy).
15. 15

    Drape the larger piece of pastry over the filling, sealing it all around the pie, using tines of a fork. Trim the excess off with a sharp knife.
16. 16

    Brush the entire pie with vegan egg wash made from plant milk , maple syrup , and soy sauce . Make a few incisions in the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with sesame , poppy seeds , or nigella seeds to decorate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes while the oven pre-heats.
17. 17

    Place a pizza stone or an upside-down metal baking tray in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 200° C / 390° F.
18. 18

    Remove the pie from the fridge and place it in the pre-heated oven using a pizza peel or a flat tray and bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown.
19. 19

    Allow it to settle a little ( 30 minutes ) before cutting. Store cooled leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.