A splendid root pie

A couple of weekends ago, I defrosted the freezer. At first, it was pure embarassment - huge chunks of ice fell from the sides and I needed copious amounts of Lakeland defrosting stuff to gently release the drawer that hasn't opened properly for months. But then it was pure joy as I put all the food back into baskets that now slid easily open and a top cabinet that seemed vast after I'd removed the iceberg inside. Attention turned to the bottom of the fridge where there's been a build-up of root veg. I loved the look of a Denis Cotter recipe for a Moroccan spiced root veg pie - this is my adaptation based on what was knocking around in the kitchen. It really is gorgeous.

Spiced root veg pie (adapted from Denis Cotter's Cafe Paridiso Cookbook)

400g root veg - I used two fat carrots, a parsnip and half a celeriac

200g peas

4 shallots

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp black mustard seeds (which I misread and ended up with 2 tbs in the pan - not a problem as I love mustard seeds)

The spice mix: 1 dried chilli, 6 cloves, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 star anise, all ground, plus 1/4 tsp cinnamon, several gratings of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp turmeric

150 ml tub  single cream

1/2 tsp salt

zest of an orange

100g almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

1 egg yolk

filo pastry

100g melted butter

Chop your roots into small dice and boil them for a few minutes until they're just tender; add the peas and cook for another couple of minutes. Drain and put in them in a large bowl. Fry the shallots and garlic in a little groundnut oil. Add the mustard seeds, then a couple of minutes later, the other spices.

After a minute, add the cream, salt and zest and cook for another couple of minutes. Pour the spiced cream over the roots and mix in gently with a spoon.

When the mixture has cooled down, add the almonds and the egg yolk.

Now it's time to wrestle with the filo pastry. I couldn't find my usual Tottenham turkish brand, and ended up with a packet of frozed Jus-rol filo. The sheets of pastry were enormous and there wasn't a surface big enough to cope with them fully unfurled, so it was a bit of a juggling match. I used an old pie plate as a base but a flan tin or shallow cake tin would be just as good. Lay out a filo sheet on the plate and brush it with melted butter. Turn the tin by about 30 degrees and lay another sheet on top of the first. Brush with butter again. Continue adding and turning until you have an overlap of pastry that will enrobe your pie filling. Then pile the root mix onto the plate.

Then fold the overlapping pastry back over the roots, brushing with butter as each layer covers the pie. Filo is brittle so you need to work quickly, but Jus-rol isn't quite as thin as my usual brand, so the folding is less fraught.

Bake at gas mark 5 for around 30-40 mins - it's ready when the pastry is golden.

I followed Denis's advice and served the pie with couscous and a yoghurty-minty-cucumber sauce. The pie tastes superb: comfortingly rooty with warming spicey tones. The filling would make a lovely pasty filling, or a base for a veggy sheperd's pie. Or a side dish...

The way of the pie

When I was nobbut a girl, my mum sometimes served a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie in lieu of a Sunday roast joint (we didn't have much money). I remember loving the pie - the pastry was cracklingly crisp and the meat, though average, had NO FAT - a big deal for me in those days. Now the pies are one of the many recession-busting food products, along with Bird's custard and Angel Delight (mmmm - remember the butterscotch). Since migrating childhood, I've never eaten a Fray Bentos pie, but I can't help wondering what I'd make of them now. Not sure if this will lead to a purchase. I hope I can resist - I prefer my pie memory not to be ruined by reality.

Pieman has a great potted (tinned?) history of the brand, named after a town in Uruguay where there was a corned beef factory. Actually, the concept of a corned beef factory is pretty vile. The pie have been made in the UK since 1958 - blimey, they're as old as me! To get at the pie, you need your tin opener; here is the pie rising in the glorious Fray Bentos: the opera. And then there's this wonderful spoof ad.