This is hands down my favourite pie to bake during colder seasons. It is hearty, but still nutritious as the filling is packed with vitamins and fiber.
This pie is very easy to make; however, the filling has to be made in advance the day before – as most of it will be prepared raw! Also, by preparing it a day earlier, all the flavours will merge together and the juices of the pumpkin will start to hydrate the rice and lentils. Don’t worry, it will be fully cooked by the time it’s out of the oven 🙂
Ingredients:
- Pie crust of choice; I used a pre-rolled vegan short crust pastry
- 2 onions
- 2kg pumpkin, cubed
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 1/2 cup rice, ideally par-boiled
- 2 tbsp capers
- 6 large olives, halved
- 2 tbsp sultanas
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp Italian herbs/ dried basil/ dried oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
- sesame seeds (optional)
Directions:
The day before
- Chop the onions and fry until translucent
- In a large bowl combine together the rest of the ingredients except for the pie crust and the sultanas
- Add the fried onions and carefully mix
- Cover the bowl and let the filling mixture marinade in the fridge overnight
Baking day
- Pre-heat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius
- Remove the bay leaves and add the sultanas to the filling mixture
- Line the pie dish with 2/3 of the short crust pastry
- Spread the filling mixture on top of the pastry and cover with the rest of the pastry
- Seal the edges and make a couple of slits on the top
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using
- Bake for an hour or so, until golden brown
- Let it cool a bit before serving
Side note:
Should you want to use any rice other than par-boiled, I advise you to boil the rice and leave it slightly undercooked before mixing it with the pumpkin mixture. This will not let the rice get a mushy texture.
Moreover, this pie freezes nicely – you can pre-portion it before freezing so you will find it super handy to reach for a portion to re-heat in no time!
