Rustic Mushroom Pies!

If you are craving a hearty winter dinner without the obligatory meat these little pies should do the trick! My kids really like them too served with creamy mashed potato and (of course!) tomato sauce.

They are a little fiddly to make but worth the effort.

Makes 6-8 small pies.

3-4 sheets of frozen puff pastry

1 brown onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 small bag mushrooms - swiss brown or buttons

1 cup vegetable stock

1 small carrot, diced

1Tbs fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or thyme)

ground pepper

1Tbs balsamic vinegar

2Tbs soy sauce

1Tbs (heaped) plain flour

Take the pastry out to defrost while you cook the mushroom filling.

Preheat the oven to 180•C.

Fry the onion in a little olive oil, add the garlic and rosemary. Add the mushrooms and carrots then the balsamic and soy sauce and stock. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the carrots are almost done. Mix the flour with a little water to form a paste then add to the mixture and stir until the gravy thickens. Season with pepper and remove from the heat.

To prepare the pastry cases grease some muffin tin trays then use a large cup or small bowl to cut out circles. Press in the bottom half, add the mushroom filling then add the lid. Fold and pinch your way around - they're supposed to look rustic hence the name! Then pop them in the hot oven for about 30 minutes to brown the pastry while you microwave some spuds to turn into delicious mashed potato. Yum!