X chicken pie X
serves four
this looks, smells, and (apparently, i can't remember) tastes like a chicken pie... and 100% vegan...
2/3 cup red lentils
8 cups water
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 massel chicken stock cubes (if not massel, make sure they are vegan)
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp sage
1 tbsp fresh parsley
3 tbsp margarine
3 tbsp flour
pie crust topping
preheat oven to 180 degrees C. cook lentils in two cups of water on medium until tender, adding more water if necessary. drain. put carrots, onions and celery in a large saucepan with six cups water plus the stock cubes. bring to the boil and cook for ten minutes. add the potatoes, and cook for a further ten minutes, then add the lentils and cook for ten minutes. to make roux, melt margarine in a frying pan, add flour and one cup of the water from the cooking vegetables. drain the vegetables (setting the stock aside) and add to the roux with the seasonings. stir well. if the mixture is too thick, add more water from the cooked vegetables. when baking, this tends to thicken up quite a bit, so add plenty of liquid. place in a casserole pan, cover with the pie crust topping. if you are straightedge, make a big x from the leftover pastry and place this on top of your pie to make it look cooler. bake for 40 mins - 1 hour until browned.
crust: mix 3/4 cup white flour, 1/2 cup wholemeal flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 125 g margarine. when well mixed, add between 3 tbsp and 1/4 cup cold water. mix into a ball and roll out between sheets of greaseproof paper to desired thickness.
