Kale Pesto & Cauliflower Picnic Pies

• Vegetarian

• Produce

  • 200 g Cauliflower florets, frozen (or fresh
  • 75 g Curly kale, frozen (or fresh
  • 3 Garlic cloves
  • 1 Lemon, Juice of
  • 75 g Onions, frozen (or fresh
  • 2 tbsp Parsley, frozen (or fresh
  • 1 Potato, large

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 50 ml Olive oil, Extra Virgin

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 75 g Almonds or pine nuts

• Bread & Baked Goods

  • 500 g Shortcrust pastry, frozen

• Dairy

  • 75 ml Soya or nut milk

Found on thevegspace.co.uk

Ingredients

• 500g Frozen Shortcrust Pastry, defrosted
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
• 200g frozen (or fresh) cauliflower florets
• 75g frozen (or fresh) diced onions
• 75g frozen (or fresh) curly kale
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 75g almonds or pine nuts
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp frozen (or fresh) chopped parsley
• 75ml soya or nut milk

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Boil the potato chunks for 5 minutes in a large saucepan. Add the cauliflower florets and diced onions, and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until both potatoes and cauliflower are just cooked through. Drain and set aside.
• Cook the curly kale in a microwave or saucepan according to packet instructions. Add to a blender or food processor along with the garlic, almonds, olive oil, lemon and parsley, and blitz until finely chopped. (For this recipe I prefer my pesto just chopped rather than a smooth sauce, but the consistency is up to you). Add the soya/nut milk and pulse until combined.
• Take a large bowl and add the potato and cauliflower, breaking up the cauliflower florets into small-ish chunks. Pour over the kale pesto and mix together until fully combined.
• Grease a 12-hole muffin tin, (I use cooking spray for this). On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to about the thickness of a pound coin, and cut out 12 large circles to line each hole of the muffin tin. Re-roll the offcuts, and cut out 12 smaller circles which will form the lids.
• Fill each case with the potato and cauliflower mixture, (pack it in really tightly, it wont expand or leak during cooking!), and then brush the edges of each lid with a little water and stick down to the rim of the pies, crimping with a fork to create a good seal. Make four little holes in a cross pattern on the lid of each pie with a sharp knife.
• Brush the lids of each pie with soya or nut milk, then spray with cooking spray (if you have some handy). Bake for 35-40 minutes until deeply golden brown on top. Leave to cool in the tin, then remove the pies carefully. These can be served either hot or cold.