leek and mushroom pot pies

Recipe from Five Ingredient Vegan by Katy Beskow (Quadrille, £15) Photography © Luke J Albert.

These cosy pies are creamy, fragrant and satisfying. I love serving them as small individual portions, but feel free to create one large pie to share, family-style.

Many brands of shop-bought puff pastry are made with vegetable oil instead of butter, making it accidentally vegan (but do check the ingredients before you buy).

Serves 2

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 medium leek, finely chopped

250g (9oz) chestnut (cremini) mushrooms, brushed clean and roughly sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 tbsp soya single cream generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff
pastry (ensure dairy-free)

For a golden finish to the pastry, brush with a little soya milk before baking.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the leek and soften over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes.

Throw in the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes until softened and fragrant.

Then pour in the soya single cream and cook for a further minute.

Season with sea salt and black pepper
to taste and remove from the heat.

Unroll the puff pastry sheet.

Position two small pie dishes upside down on the pastry and use a knife to cut out around them. If you like, you can use the excess pastry to cut out shapes to decorate the pie tops.

Fill the pie dishes with the creamy leek and mushrooms, then place the pastry discs over the top, crimping the edges all the way around with a fork.

Bake in the oven for 15–18 minutes until golden.