This recipe has seen a few trials and errors (mostly errors) but I’ve landed on this super tasty and fun savoury vegan pie with sweet potato, mushrooms, chickpeas, and spinach, packed with curry flavour. The original idea was a samosa pie made just with potatoes and peas but it was way too heavy.
The pastry is a speedy spelt one made in the food processor because I got a little frustrated with hot water crust and this was easier. I’ve made this pie with a few different pastry types but this was my favourite, and it’s all whole-grain, so you can feel good about eating that third piece of pie. Living life to the fullest over here!
Here’s the slightly tricky thing about this recipe. You have to cook a bit of the filling before baking it, but it doesn’t take long. I tried making it without cooking off the onions and mushrooms and it was kind of awful – even Graham made a bit of a yuck face and he eats everything, so that step can’t be skipped.
Since you’re frying a bit anyway, the spices get mixed in to improve their flavour before being added to sliced sweet potato, then layered with spinach or another leafy green. I’m a bit uninspired and sick of root vegetables so this is a way to liven up what’s available at this time of year before spring stuff starts coming in. Just add a little curry, right? Curry and cookies to get through the next month of rain-induced grouchiness.
If you’re looking for a different Easter main dish, this would be great, but it’s also nice just as a weekend dinner. Hypothetically you could make this on a weeknight; it doesn’t take that long to prep, but I can’t see myself doing it after a full day of work. If you’re not comfortable with making your own pastry, just buy some good stuff and use that instead. This is pretty forgiving even if you’re not a pie master, which I’m obviously not, hah. It’s rustic. The pastry is more crisp than flaky, typical of a pie made with coconut oil instead of butter.
The idea was to make this as a freeform pie without a baking-form, but my friend Svenny lent me a whole pile of beautiful pots and pans that she recently inherited. She also hand modelled for me for an afternoon and it was probably the best workday I’ve had in the past year. What an angel. I ended up making the pie in a rectangular form (around 8×6 / 20×15) as a slab pie, because who has pie pans? (You, probably.)
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Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Chickpea Slab Pie
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Filling
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 250 grams button mushrooms sliced
- 60 grams yellow onion 1 medium sized onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 5 cm piece ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sea salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 150 grams cooked chickpeas
- 400 grams sweet potato sliced into rounds, or one medium sized sweet potato
- 70 grams baby spinach or other greens
Coconut Oil Spelt Pastry
- 250 grams spelt flour*
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 50 grams solid coconut oil
- 8-10 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat with the coconut oil.1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Add the mushrooms and onions, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.250 grams button mushrooms, 60 grams yellow onion
- Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for another minute, followed by the spices. Cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.3 cloves garlic, 5 cm piece ginger, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Stir the apple cider vinegar into the pan and turn off the heat. Set aside.1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Place the chickpeas and sliced sweet potato into a large bowl* and mix with the mushroom spice mixture until the sweet potatoes are coated in spices. Set this aside while you make the pastry.150 grams cooked chickpeas, 400 grams sweet potato
Pastry
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and grease an 20 x 15 cm (8 x 6 inches) rectangular pan with coconut oil.
- Place the flour, salt, and coconut oil into the base of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until it looks like wet sand and the coconut oil is broken up into small pieces. Add the water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing between additions, until the pastry holds when pressed between your fingers.250 grams spelt flour*, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 50 grams solid coconut oil, 8-10 tablespoons cold water
- Form a ball with the pastry and split into two pieces, 1/3 and 2/3. Flour a large surface space and roll out the larger piece to a half-centimetre thickness. Place into the prepared pan, gently pressing to make sure there are no gaps.
- Layer the filling into the pastry, starting with the sweet potato mixture followed by spinach, until all of the filling has been used. Roll out the remaining pastry and top the pie, using a fork to seal the edges and cutting off any excess with a sharp knife.70 grams baby spinach or other greens
- Cut a vent in the top of the pie if you'd like, then bake in the centre rack of the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the pie pulls away from the edges of the pan slightly. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving hot.
Notes
• If you're not vegan, you can top the pie with an egg wash before baking for a more golden crust.
Jane says
I used this filling recipe with my own pie crust recipe in a regular 9″ deep pie plate. The quantities worked out perfectly. The flavours were so delicious. My husband and I loved it. Thanks so much for the great recipe!