Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Taking it up a notch...


Recently, I wanted to make a vegetable based meal, but wanted avoid risotto and pasta, as Dad hates them (which doesn't stop us, but we do try to limit it). Mum suggested the veggie pasties she used to make by roasting vegetables and mixing them with cheese. I liked the idea but decided I could do better.

Katie's Cheesy Veggie Pasties
Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes
1/2 a medium sweet potato
Approximately the same amount of pumpkin
1 carrot
A large handful of frozen peas
60g butter
1/3 cup plain flour
500mL milk
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp English mustard
125g grated tasty cheese
1 tbsp grated parmesan
salt, pepper and nutmeg
4 sheets puff pastry

Method:
Peel and dice all veggies (except peas), aiming for 1-2cm cubes/rectangular prisms. Put in a roasting tray and coat with oil (I use olive oil), then bake in oven until golden and soft through. Tip into a large mixing bowl (I usually put a couple of squares of paper towel at the bottom to soak up excess oil), add peas, and set aside.
Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour and mustards. Stir for one minute. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Stir until it boils and thickens. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add cheeses and stir until melted.
Pour cheese sauce over vegetables (remembering to remove the paper towel) You won't need it all, so add it bit by bit, stirring as you go, until everything is coated.
Hopefully, you've been smart and gotten the pastry out of the freezer to defrost. Cut each sheet in half vertically (I tried doing it diagonally, and it really doesn't work as well) Spoon some of the veggie mix into the centre of each piece, taking care to leave a little space at each edge. Brush all the edges with a little milk, and roll up into rectangular pasties, making sure to seal the short ends. Place on a baking tray (I like to line with baking paper) brush pasties all over with milk, and pierce tops. Bake at 200C for around 20min or until golden.
Enjoy!

Notes:
The veggies can be varied - tonight's contained beans (I don't know what kind, but they were purple until I cooked them) and I have also mixed grated zucchini through the mix.
These can be reheated later - this makes twice as many as my family needs for dinner, so the rest get gladwrapped, and refrigerated. They can be reheated in either the microwave or the oven.