Mary Berry - Country Vegetable Pies (428 Calories)

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. 

Well, if you’d asked me this morning what I expected I’d be scoring tonight’s recipe, I was thinking a 3🌟. I have to say I have been very pleasantly surprised.

It’s not a quick recipe to make. I did a half portion and it took about 1 hour 20 start to finish.

The question is... was it tasty? Hell yes! And I ate it all (my portion not the entire 3 portions 😆)! Coming from someone who doesn’t really like veg and is an all out meat eater this is a big deal!

I did find this recipe a bit ambiguous in places. I mean there’s a section where it says you have to roast the veg and garlic together but it doesn’t say to chop that half of the garlic, so I did as I didn’t fancy biting into a whole clove...

Also, because I was doing a half portion I thought it would be difficult to blanch the parsnips and carrots in such a small amount of liquid so I made the full portion of stock and when I drained it I only used half of what was left to go in the parsley sauce.

I used 2/3 of a knorr veg stock pot to make the 300ml. Parsley and potatoes from my kitchen garden.

Will I make this again? Absolutely! Delicious

Full Recipe Below

Recipe: Country Vegetable Pies

Recipe Book: Mary Berry - Complete Cookbook -  Page 324 

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SERVES 6 

CALS PER SERVING 428

8 carrots, diced

8 parsnips, diced

300 ml (1/2 pint) vegetable stock

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 head of garlic, separated into cloves and peeled

750g (1.5lb) potatoes, diced

salt and black pepper

4 tbsp hot milk

45g (1.5oz) butter

paprika, to garnish

Parsley sauce

45g (1.5oz) butter

45g (1.5oz) plain flour

150ml (1/4 pint) milk

Method

1. Blanch the carrots and parsnips in the stock for l minute. 
2. Drain, reserving the stock. 
3. Put the oil into an ovenproof dish, add the vegetables and half of the garlic, and stir well. 
4. Roast in a preheated oven at 200°C (l80°C fan, Gas 6) for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes and the remaining garlic in boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender. 
6. Drain, return to the pan, and add the hot milk and 30 g of the butter. 
7. Mash, and season with salt and pepper.
8. Remove the roasted vegetables with a slotted spoon, and place in six small ovenproof dishes or one large dish, and season.
9. Now make the parsley sauce: melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour, and cook, stirring, for l minute. 
10. Remove from the heat and blend in the milk and stock. 
11. Bring to a boil stirring, until thick. 
12. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the parsley and season.
13. Pour the sauce over the vegetables, top with the potato, and dot with the remaining butter. 
14. Bake for 20 minutes. 
15. Serve with paprika sprinkled on accompanied by a mixed leaf salad.

Aga conversion: blanching - on the boiling plate, parsley sauce - boiling plate, boiling the potatoes - floor of the roasting oven, roasting the veg - 30 mins on grid shelf on bottom set of runners in roasting oven, baking the pie - 15-20 mins on grid shelf on 3rd set of runners till brown in roasting oven or pop it under a regular grill for the final 5 minutes.