Butternut Squash Puff Pasty Pie

Ok, this is my first post ever so please bear with me, especially for the pictures... :)

I modelled this pie on an old Readers Digest recipe I had from my boyfriend's mother, which was a cottage cheese and chive pie. I substituted the cottage cheese for mashed up butternut squash, and the chives for red onions. It turned out pretty well. Mine was almost overfilled, so I've reduced the quantities slightly. This recipe is pretty time intensive, but the end result is worth it, and it tastes great cold too. Remember to take the pastry out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to roll it out!





450g squash
110g cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
75g breadcrumbs
2 red onions
4 garlic cloves
dried basil
salt and pepper
250g puff pastry

Serves: 4 - 6


1. Fry the onions and garlic together over a low heat, with olive oil. After a few minutes, add one tablespoon of balsamic oil, and cook gently until soft. Once they are done, take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, peel the butternut squash, cut into cubes and boil until soft.

3. Mix the breadcrumbs and cheese together, along with around one half to one teaspoon of dried basil.

4. When the squash is cooked, drain, return to the pan and mash with a small knob of butter (optional).

5. Add the onions to the squash and mix. The mixture might be quite juicy - don't panic!

6. Add the breadcrumbs and cheese and stir through.

7. Finally, add one beaten egg to the mixture. This will help hold things together. You might want to save a small amount of egg to brush the pastry.

8. Roll the pastry out as thinly as you can - without breaking it - on a floured surface. The larger the better. You want to get the length about the same as the baking tray you'll use to cook it on. Don't worry if you make it too large as you'll be folding the pastry over on itself anyway, and too large is better than too small! Transfer the pastry to the baking tray.

9. Take the butternut squash mixture and lay it down the middle of the pastry. Fold the edges over the top, so that they overlap. Brush the top of the pie with the remaining egg, or milk if you prefer (or if you forget to save egg!), and score the top of the tin.

10. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C, for around 30 minutes, until golden and crispy on top.

Leave to cool slightly before slicing:

I ate this with a garlicky mayonaise potato salad, and some dressed baby spinach leaves. Nom nom nom :)