Chunky Vegetable Pie

20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cook

Serves 5

Ingredients

2 large red peppers, halved, stalks & seeds removed

2 large carrots, peeled & trimmed

2 large courgettes, trimmed

1 large bulb fennel, trimmed

250g spinach, washed

2 x 270g packs filo pastry, thawed if frozen (12 sheets)

Olive or rapeseed oil, for cooking

150g unsalted butter, plus extra for cooking

Salt & pepper to season

Method

Cook the vegetables separately and season to taste. To roast the peppers, place them skin side up under a hot grill until they blacken. Place in a sealed plastic bag and leave to cool before peeling or scraping away the skin.

While the peppers cool, cut the carrots and courgettes into julienne strips and slice the fennel. Steam the carrots or simmer in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

Heat a little oil and butter in a frying pan and sauté the courgettes until a little coloured. Drain and cool on kitchen paper. Repeat with the fennel, cooking until soft.

Heat a little more oil or butter and cook the spinach for around a minute, stirring often.

Line the base of the pie tin with baking parchment, then place the sides of the tin on top, so the full base is lined.

One by one, brush the filo pastry sheets with melted butter and place them, overlapping, in the tin. Make sure that the sides are well sealed and there is enough pastry overhanging all 4 sides to form a lid. Use all 12 sheets.

Divide the cooked fennel into 3. Place a layer of fennel into the lined tin, then the courgettes, roasted peppers, a second layer of fennel, the spinach, the carrots and a final layer of fennel, pressing down firmly between each layer.

Fold the overhanging pastry from all 4 sides over the vegetables so they are completely covered and form a sealed lid. Brush the top with melted butter and chill the pie for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 and warm a baking sheet. Place the pie onto the baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes.

Take the pie out of the oven, remove the sides of the tin and gently slide the pie off the cradle onto the baking tray. Brush the pastry sides with melted butter and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the sides are golden brown and crisp.

Serve while hot or place the pie on a wire rack, with the base of the tin still in place, to cool before serving.