Summer Vegetable Open Pie

Is it a quiche, a galette, a flan, a free-form tart, or an open pie? You know what, it doesn't matter what you call it. This summer vegetable open pie is simply delicious. It is also really easy to make!

• Quick and easy pastry
• Egg-free
• Picnic
• Party
• Lunch
• Meat-free

Easy as Pie

I do love pies and tarts but sometimes faffing about making pastry cases and lining pie plates seems a little too much effort - even though it really isn't.  Nonetheless, this really simple summer vegetable open pie solves that problem. All you need to do is roll the pastry out into a large circle, transfer to a baking sheet, and pile the filling in the centre. Tuck up the edges, and job done! It doesn't matter if the pastry cracks a bit you can just gently press it back together, so it's nice and quick. There are no liquids to run outor give your pastry a soggy bottom so that's another thing you don't need to worry about.

And did I mention the vegetables are roasted so they taste super yummy? I love how roasting vegetables always brings out the sweetness and flavour.

Butter vs Lard & Butter

I've used an all butter pastry as this is my favourite, it has a very light crumbly biscuit-like texture. However, I've started to use a mixture of half butter, half lard when making pastry  again. That was what my parents always used (my dad might have been the Baker but my mum made amazing pastry) and it was what we used when I was taught at college. It makes the pastry a little easier to handle and a little firmer but still with a lovely "short" texture that gibes Shortcrust pastry its name.  Gradually lard fell out of favour and I have never been keen on using vegetable shortening as I feel it is too processed. For this reason, I found myself only using butter.  Now that we know lard is not the villian it was thought to be, I'm starting to use it again in some of my recipes.  If I were making this for a picnic I would probably use lard in the pastry to make it a little less crumbly, it would just make it that little bit easier to transport in one piece,

Summer Vegetable Open Pie

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Light crumbly pastry case filled with roasted summer vegetables. Great for picnics, parties, or lunch.

Course Main

Cuisine British

Keyword meat-free, pastry

Skill Level Easy

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 5 mins

Chilling 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr 55 mins

Servings 6

Calories 409

Author Jacqueline Bellefontaine

Ingredients

• 200 g plain flour
• 100 g butter or a mixture of half butter half lard, cut into cubes
• 2 –3 tablespoon cold water
• 1 small onion cut into wedges
• 250 g courgettes cut into chunks (zucchini)
• 250 g aubergine cut into chunks (egg plant)
• 100 g baby carrots
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano or mixed herbs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 200 g cherry tomatoes
• 150 g mozzarella cheese cut or broken into chunks
• a little beaten egg or milk to glaze
• 4 tablespoon crème fraîche

metric - US cups

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6.
• Place the flour and butter in a food processor and whizz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add enough water to mix to a smooth dough. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile place the onion, courgette, aubergine and carrots in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle with the oil. Scatter the dried herbs on top, season well and toss the vegetables to coat in the oil.
• Roast for 20 minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
• Roll out pastry to form a circle about 30cm/12in across. It does not have to be a perfect circle. The easiest way to do this is to fold it over your rolling pin and use this to lift it.
• Transfer to a baking sheet. Pile the roasted vegetables into the middle of the circle then add the tomatoes and cheese.
• Turn up the edges of the pastry around the filling to form a pastry case. If it tears, simply stick back together and brush the pastry with a little beaten egg or milk.
• Spoon the crème fraiche over the vegetables. Bake for 35 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden

Notes

Nutrition information is approximate and is meant as a guideline only. (It does not include seasoning with salt and pepper.) 

Nutrition

Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 304mg | Potassium: 409mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3190IU | Vitamin C: 17.7mg | Calcium: 168mg | Iron: 2.4mg

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