Hairy Bikers Chestnut and Mushroom Pie Recipe

Hairy Bikers chestnut and mushroom pie packs 600g of mushrooms and halved chestnuts into a herby wine and stock sauce inside a buttery shortcrust case. From British Classics it feeds 6, so I reckon a slice at roughly 640 calories, and I’d allow 2 hours 20 minutes in all.

On Comfort Food, Si and Dave made a version they “weren’t quite happy with”, so they had “another go” for British Classics. And they wanted “a really lovely vegetarian Sunday lunch”, so this is a proper pie, with pastry under the filling as well as on top.

Leave the filling to cool completely before it meets the pastry, because I’ve found warm filling softens a crust this rich in butter. So I cook the sauce thick too, stirring until it clings to a spoon, since a runny filling soaks the base in my experience.

Hairy Bikers Chestnut and Mushroom Pie Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:1 hour 5 minutesRest time: 45 minutesTotal time:2 hours 20 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:640 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Thyme, sage and parsley season the mushroom and chestnut filling, which bakes in pastry made in a food processor. Then expect a golden lid after about 45 minutes in the oven.

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 200g butter, chilled
• 1 egg yolk
• sea salt

For the filling

• 50g butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 600g mixture of fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• large thyme sprig, leaves only
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 30g plain flour
• 100ml white wine
• 300ml mushroom or vegetable stock
• 100g vacuum-packed chestnuts, cut in half
• small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• sea salt and black pepper

To finish

• 1 egg, beaten, for sealing and brushing

Instructions

1. Make the pastry: Put the flour and butter in a food processor with a generous pinch of salt and pulse until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and enough cold water to bind, then shape into a ball, wrap and chill until you’re ready to roll.
2. Sweat the onion: Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat. Add the onion, cover and leave it to sweat for 5 minutes.
3. Cook the mushrooms: Turn the heat up slightly, add the mushrooms and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, then add the garlic, thyme and sage.
4. Make the sauce: Stir in the flour until it forms a paste around the vegetables. Pour in the wine and stir it in, then add the stock and season. Bring to the boil, then simmer, stirring, until thickened.
5. Cool the filling: Add the chestnuts and parsley, cover the pan and take it off the heat. Leave it to cool, and once cool, preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5.
6. Line and fill: Divide the pastry into 2 pieces, one slightly bigger than the other. Roll out the larger piece on a floured surface and line a pie dish, then add the cooled filling. For size, I use a 23cm dish, about 4cm deep.
7. Top and bake: Roll out the rest and lay it over the filling, wetting the edges with beaten egg and crimping them well. Cut a couple of slits to let the steam escape, brush with egg and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden-brown and piping hot.

FAQs

Is this the pie from their Comfort Food series?

Not quite, because the TV version is listed as going out in an episode called It’s Cold Outside, on BBC One in January 2017. And the reworked recipe from British Classics is the one on this card.

There’s also a vegetarian chestnut and mushroom pie under their name on BBC Food, but I haven’t been able to compare it with this one. And as far as I can see, it isn’t in their Ultimate Comfort Food book.

Is it vegetarian, and can it be vegan?

It’s vegetarian, with mushroom or vegetable stock, though I check the wine is labelled vegetarian, since some are fined with animal products.

It isn’t vegan as written, since the pastry has butter and an egg yolk, and the lid gets an egg wash. For a vegan version, I’d make the Veggie Feasts vegan pastry with 350g flour, 175g non-dairy spread, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Then I’d use oil in the filling and brush the lid with plant milk, though I haven’t tried it on this pie.

Which mushrooms and chestnuts should I use?

Si and Dave just ask for a 600g mixture of fresh mushrooms, so I use mostly chestnut mushrooms with a couple of big flat ones. And I slice them fairly thick, since mine shrink a lot in the pan.

The chestnuts are 100g of vacuum-packed ones, halved, which is less than a typical pack. But roasted and peeled fresh chestnuts work too, though I only bother around Christmas. And there are no leeks in this one, but a sliced leek with the onion is my own swap when I’m short of mushrooms.

Can I make it ahead, or use ready-made pastry?

Yes, I make the filling the day before and keep it covered in the fridge, so it’s properly cold when the pastry goes on. Or I freeze the cooled filling for another day, which I prefer to freezing a baked pie.

The homemade pastry weighs roughly 600g, so 2 sheets of ready-rolled shortcrust, about 320g each, are my shortcut. And I keep leftovers for 2 days in the fridge, then reheat a slice at 180°C/Fan 160°C for about 20 minutes until piping hot.

What should I serve with it?

It’s on their list of smashing Sunday dinners in British Classics, so I serve it like a roast, with mash, greens and gravy. And the creamy sherry mushroom gravy from their chestnut and freekeh nut roast suits it nicely.

For another pie from the same book, there’s their cheese and onion pie with Lancashire, baked free-form on a tray. But for meat-eaters, their chicken and mushroom pie from Chicken & Egg comes in puff pastry, top and bottom too.