Chestnut & Mushroom Pie

6oz/150g flour

3oz/75g fat (half margarine, half solid vegetable oil)

8oz/200g peeled chestnuts

Half pint/250ml warm water or stock

1 dessertspoon yeast extract

1 onion

4oz/100g mushrooms

4oz/100g bread crumbs

 

1 To make the pastry: sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl.
2 Rub in the fat until the mix resembles bread crumbs.
3 Add cold water little by little, just enough to form a soft dough.
4 Knead lightly and refridgerate for half an hour.
5 Roll out, and line either undividual pie tins, or a larger flan dish.
6 To make the filling: soak the chestnuts in the water or stock with the yeast extract dissolved in it.
7 Fry the onion until golden, add the mushrooms for a minute and then a tablespoon of flour.
8 Stir on low heat for a minute, season and slowly add chestnuts and their water, stirring and raising the heat until the sauce thickens.
9 Fill pastry tins with mixture, top with bread crumbs, and bake at Gas mark 7/220ºC/425ºF for 30 minutes or until the bread crumbs and pastry are golden brown.