Kabocha squash and sage pot pies

September is approaching fast, but the weather can still be quite summerly, so save this recipe for the autumn if you think it's not pie season yet. I'm going to share this with you now anyway.

Kabocha is a sweet and chestnut flavoured squash and it makes a really lovely pie filling. Therefore I decided to make this pie with it.

The pie filling:

1 kabocha squash (about 500g)

1 onion

1 garlic clove

150g mozzarella

150ml vegetable stock

1 egg

1 cup white wine

Olive oil

Fresh sage

The pastry:

150g flour

75g butter

2-4tbsp cold water

The method:

For the pastry mix the flour and soft butter together. Pinch small butter pieces among the flour until the dough reaches a bread crumb like texture. Then add the cold water and knead into a firm dough. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Then you can start preparing the filling. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Chop the squash into small cubes and place them on a baking tray. Be careful when cutting the squash as it can be a hard one to crack. Quarter the onion and add the onion wedges to the baking tray. Put the garlic and sage on the baking tray as well. Brush the vegetables with olive oil. Roast them in the oven for about 30 minutes. Stir them occasionally.

In the meanwhile chop the mozzarella. When the veg is roasted, lightly fry it in a pan. Chop the garlic first somewhat smaller. Add the white wine to the pan and let it evaporate. Then also add the vegetable stock and let it simmer for a while. Add the mozzarella cubes before you take the filling off heat.

Grease a cake tin or smaller oven dishes to bake the pies in. I made two smaller pies this time. Roll out the pastry thinly and cut suitable sized pieces for your dishes, also for the lids. Place the pastry into the dish, fill it with the squash filling and put the lid on them. Press the edges firmly together and brush the pies with a beaten egg. You can make some decorations on the lid by pressing with a fork.

Bake the pie at 200C for about 20-25 minutes and serve it hot.

Your VegHog