Lentil Pie
For the lentil stew:
- 1 cup brown lentils, washed
- 2.5 cups water
- 2 potatoes, cubed
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2.5 cups water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- salt
For the pastry:
- 250g butter, chopped and softened
- 125g plain wholemeal flour
- pinch salt
- 1/4 -1/2 cup water, cold
1. Place lentils in saucepan with 2.5 cups water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Check on lentils and if going dry, add extra water.
2. Add potatoes, onion and extra 2.5 cups of water to the lentils. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. While potatoes and onion are cooking, in a separate saucepan, place the oil and slowly heat for a couple of minutes. Then add the flour and mix for about one minute. Add the tomato paste and mix a little until slightly brown and pasty. Remove from heat.
4. When potatoes and onion are finished cooking, leave on heat. Ladle out some watery mixture from the lentils into the tomato paste mix to thin. Mix the tomato paste mixture into the lentils and stir until combined and stew has thickened. Turn off heat. Flavour stew with salt. Let the lentil stew sit and cool and it will continue to thicken.
5. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. To make the pastry, place the butter, flour and salt into a bowl. Use a pastry cutter to chop the butter into the flour. When well combined, add1/4 cup of water to the mixture and mix in. Handle the pastry as little as possible. If pastry requires, add a little more water.
6. Flour a board and place just over 1/2 the pastry on the board. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry, keeping it floured on both sides. When pastry is an appropriate size for a pie tin, roll pastry around rolling pin. Lift the rolling pin over the pie dish and unroll over tin. Cut pastry to size. If any gaps in pastry, use excess pastry to patch.
7. Blind bake the pastry: prick the pastry in the tin with a fork and and place some baking paper over the pasty. Lay some dry chickpeas or beans on the baking paper. Bake for 10 minutes.
8. Remove pastry from oven. Pour lentil stew into pastry case. Roll the rest of the remaining pastry on the board as described in item 5. Lay the pastry over the top of the stew and cut. Use a fork to press the sides of the pastry together all around the edge of the pie tin. Press a fork into the top of the pie about four times across the pastry. Place pie in oven.
9. Bake pie for approximately 40 minutes, or until golden. Let pie sit for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.