creamy vegetable pie

Fancy a taste of French-style cooking? Here is a creamy vegetable pie using choux pastry. I like pies, and savoury ones can be made into a one-dish meal for lunch or dinner. This one is suitable for vegetarians. Choux pastry is easy to make unlike other types of pastries. So happy trying!

creamy vegetable pie

Ingredients:

(A) for the filling
2 carrot
2 potato
2 leeks
1 Japanese cucumber or zucchini
100 gm broccoli
100 gm cauliflower
water
3/4 tablespoon salt

40 gm butter
40 gm plain flour
600 ml milk
1 tablepoon chicken stock granules
pepper

(B) for the choux pastry

1 measuring cup water

1/2 measuring cup butter

1 measuring cup plain flour

4 eggs

Method:

1) Wash vegetables. Slice carrots diagonally. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Cut off roots of leek and slice about 2 cm lengthwise. Slice cucumber 1 cm thick. Divide broccoli and cauliflower into florets.

2) Boil water in a wok or a pan. Add salt, stir to dissolve. Cook carrots and potato until almost softened, about 5 minutes.

3) Add the rest of the vegetables into water, mix them well. Cook another 2 minutes. Switch off the fire and use strainer to drain water from vegetables. Put vegetables in a shallow, ovenproof glass dish. 

4) To make the cream - Cook butter and flour in a pan over low heat until butter melts and is well mixed with the flour. Add the milk and keep on stirring until there is no lumps. Bring cream to a boil. Season with chicken stock granules and pepper.

5) Pour the cream over the vegetables and mix well. But if the cream is still lumpy, place a sieve over the vegetables and using a ladle, press the cream through the sieve for a smoother consistency

6) To make the choux pastry - Melt the butter in water in a pot and bring it to boil. Then remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the flour and mix well. Beat in one egg at a time, making sure it is completely beaten into the dough before adding another egg. The dough should be wet and if lifted up with a spoon, it will slide down.

7) Cover the vegetables completely and evenly with the choux pastry.

8) Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees celcius (but midway, reduce heat to 170 degrees) until pastry rises, turns golden brown and is firm to the touch. Serve while still hot. Cut with a knife into 12 or more pieces.