Field Mushroom, Walnut and Thyme Filo Pie
This is rich, satisfying and a total winner, providing a delicious weeknight dinner or weekend lunch. In summer, a side of chargrilled broccoli makes a great accompaniment, and in winter, I like it with kale sauteed in a little butter and soy sauce.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 100g puy lentils
- 70g butter
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1/2 bunch thyme, 2/3 of it tied together with string, the remaining 1/3 leaves picked
- 8 large field (or flat) mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 100g walnuts
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 100g cream cheese
- 2 tbsp milk
- 50g cheddar cheese, grated
- 7 large sheets of filo pastry
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Cook the lentils according to packet instructions.
Melt 15g of the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the onions, garlic and tied thyme and season well with salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes until lightly browned, then transfer to a large bowl. Heat another 15g of the butter in the same frying pan, with the bunch of tied thyme, and when the butter has melted, add the mushrooms and season well with salt. Cook for about 15 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated.
Transfer the cooked mushrooms to the bowl containing the onions. Squeeze any liquid out of the bunch of thyme into the bowl and discard.
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C/gas 7.
Put the walnut pieces in a roasting dish with the vegetable oil. Season well with salt, toss to coat in the oil, and toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes until a deep golden colour. Remove from the oven, leave to cool then roughly chop.
Add the walnuts, lentils and thyme leaves to the large bowl. Mix well. In a seperate bowl, whisk the cream cheese and milk together until smooth. Add to the large bowl, along with the grated cheddar and mix well.
Melt the remaining 40g of butter in a pan. Brush a 23cm pie dish with a little butter. Lay one sheet of pastry on your work surface, brush liberally with melted butter and place in the dish. Brush a second piece of filo with butter then add in an overlapping criss-cross pattern. Continue with 2 more buttered sheets to create a star shape. Add the mushroom mixture and smooth the surface. Brush the remaining 3 filo sheets with butter, then scrunch up and place on top of the pie. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the mushroom mix is lightly bubbling.
Remove from the oven and serve warm with your chosen side dish.
Find more pie recipes in Marcus Wareing's cookbooks. Explore the range here.
