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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm oil on canvas. Inspired by the flatness of poster art and the childlike fun of the artwork of Australia's much loved Michael Leunig. I like the idea of the eating paddock to plate, or in this case, garden to pie. Look how fresh this Spring pie is. The plants are still growing!!

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The meatless meals recipe - Spring Pot Pie

It's not as much work as it seems! Don't be put off by the long recipe. This is really a straightforward pot pie where the actual vegetable filling can be flexible. Most of the flavour is in the stock which then makes a thick filling sauce and a pea sauce for topping. This is one of those recipes good for using up all sorts of odds and ends from the garden or left over in the fridge.

For 4 individual pot pies when served with mash

Stock

6 peppercorns
4 bay leaves
8-10 large fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (about 2 teaspoons) Dried sage is far stronger than fresh so use far far less if substituting
2" fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
Liquid volume should total 1L:
1 tablespoon / 20ml olive oil
1 tablespoon / 20ml lemon juice
1 tablespoon / 20ml white wine vinegar
1 cup dry white wine
690ml water

Pie Filling

1 small-medium parsnip
2 cups finely shredded silverbeet or cabbage
1 leek or medium-large onion, chopped or sliced
240g cooked beans
1 small turnip or swede, chopped
1 1/2 medium carrots, sliced or diced

Thick Stock Sauce

1 cup stock liquid (after cooking)
1 tablespoon cornflour

Pea Sauce

2 cups peas
2 tablespoons fresh mint
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2/3 cup / 180ml stock liquid (after cooking)


500g shortcrust or puff pastry for pie lining and lid


Put stock ingredients in a pot with a lid on.
Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Add pie filling ingredients to the pot.
Simmer gently for another 15 minutes. Keep the lid on.
Test that veg are done and keep simmering if necessary.
Grease pie dishes with olive oil.
Line with pastry.
Strain pie filling ingredients. KEEP THE STOCK LIQUID. Remove bay leaves and rosemary stalk.
Fill pies.
Using 1 cup of stock liquid, make a thick stock sauce by whisking in 1 tablespoon of cornflour to thicken.
Pour equal amounts of the thick stock sauce into each pie.
Put pastry lids on the pies.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180c to cook the pastry.
Make the pea sauce by putting cooked peas, mint, parsley and stock into a blender and whizzing until smooth.

Serve pot pies with pea sauce and mashed potato.