Vegan mushroom pie

Step 1

Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add shallots and sauté on a low flame for a few minutes, before adding in garlic and herbs.

Step 2

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

Step 3

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

Step 4

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

Step 5

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

Step 6

Cook for another 5 minutes or so to caramelise then add balsamic to the pan. Cook for a further minute before switching the heat off.

Step 7

Whizz drained cashews, nutritional yeast, tapioca, a good pinch of salt and pepper and 135 ml (½ cup + 2 tbsp) of water in a mini blender until smooth.

Step 8

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

Step 9

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

Step 10

Remove the pastry out of the fridge 10 minutes before assembly.

Step 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.

Step 12

Cut a 16 cm / 6.25 inches piece of pastry as a bottom of the pie and another slighly 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.

Step 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.

Step 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).

Step 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.

Step 16

Brush the entire pie with vegan egg wash, make a few incisions in the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with seeds of choice. Refrigate for 30 minutes while the oven pre-heats.

Step 17

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

Step 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.

Step 19

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