This is one of my favourite pies, rich in flavour and full of veg. The homemade pastry is totally optional as it’s delicious if you just use store bought pastry.

I add the kipfler potatoes to make it super filling and because they add a contrasting texture to the cauliflower. The celery helps build flavour and more texture, plus it’s an extra vegetable – ideal!

The filling looks creamy but is actually just a milk and stock based sauce. The rich flavour comes from adding Parmesan to the sauce. You could amp it up even further by using the Parmesan broth from this recipe. But chicken stock will also work.

I usually poach a whole chicken for this recipe. Shred the meat and then use the bones plus Parmesan rinds to make a super rich stock in a pressure. But that takes some time so you can totally cheat and use chicken stock, and use roast chicken or grilled chicken breast that you then shred.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Thyme short crust pastry (if not making replace with 2 sheets of store bought puff pastry)

340g plain flour

2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 tsp salt

170g unsalted butter, cold

90mls ice cold water

Pie filling

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 brown onion, diced (or swap for 1 cup finely sliced spring onion for lower fructose)

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsps dried thyme

3 Tbs plain flour

200ml full cream milk

500ml chicken stock or Parmesan broth

4 cups chopped cauliflower, chopped into 2-3cm florets

300g kipfler potatoes, cleaned and diced into bite sized pieces

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (1 chicken worth approx)

2 sheets frozen puff pastry to top

1 beaten egg (for egg wash)

Directions

Homemade Pastry: in a large bowl stir the flour, salt and thyme together. Chop the butter into a 1cm dice. Rub into the flour using your fingers. It should resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add 1/2 the water, use a wooden spoon to bring it together into a soft dough. Add rest of the water 1 Tbs at a time as needed to form a dough that holds together. Form into a disk and wrap in cling film. Let rest for 30mins.

Pie filling: par boil potatoes for ten minutes. Drain and set aside.

Bring the stock to a simmer in a pot big enough to fit it and the cauliflower. Add the cauliflower and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain, reserving the stock.

Put large high sided pan on medium high heat. Once hot add the oil. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until softened. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 30seconds – 1 min.

Add the flour, if too dry add a little extra oil or knob of butter. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Combine the warm stock and the milk and slowly stir this into the floury onion and celery. A thick sauce should form.

Add the parmesan, stir to melt. Next, add the cauliflower, potatoes and chicken. Season with the pepper and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust if you need too. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cook short crust pastry: Preheat oven to 220°C. Line the base and side of a rectangular (approx 30cm long) pie dish with the shortcrust pastry. Let it hang over the edge a little to allow for shrinkage. Line with partchment paper and fill with rice or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper, rice or dried beans and bake for a further 8 minutes, or until pastry is lightly golden. Remove from oven. Trim the edges.

If using store bought puff pastry for the bottom too: lightly grease your baking dish and use two pieces of defrosted puff pastry to line the bottom, going up the sides. Use your finger to pinch or press together the seam. If you can be bothered and want to be sure of avoiding a soggy base: Prick the pastry a few times with a fork. Cover with baking paper and fill with pie weights, or rice, to weigh down. Bake for ten minutes, remove the baking paper and continue. You can just add the filling into raw puff pastry if you’re not worried about the base being criep!

Fill your pie: Pour the pie mix into the pie. Brush egg wash over edges of the short crust pastry. Cover the pie with the defrosted puff pastry, pinching to connect it to the cooked pastry. Trim to fit and use the scraps to decorate as you please. Pierce the top with a sharp knife a couple of times to allow the pie to vent. Brush the top lightly with the beaten egg mix.

Place the pie in the preheated oven and cook until golden, approx 20-25 minutes. *if you are using store bought puff pastry for the bottom and haven’t precooked you’ll want to bake the pie for at least 30 minutes.

Allow to sit for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

HH. x