Winter Vegetable Pies

Winter Pie
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
250 g leeks
750 g root vegetable mix of Swede, turnip, carrots, potato, parsnip
40 g butter
1 large onion
40 g flour
500 ml milk
Salt and Pepper for seasoning
175 g grated hard cheese
2 teaspoon of fresh sage or tarragon
500 g Puff pastry

Recipe
Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F/ Gas Mark 6
Chop into even sized pieces all the vegetables, except the onion, simmer for about 20 minutes, and drain.

Now for the onion and cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the finely chopped onion, and cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes. Gently stir in the flour so a nice paste with the onion and butter. Add the milk a little at a time so no lumps appear. Now add your seasoning and continue to cook for a few more minutes, keep stirring. Now add the grated cheese and the sage, mix well in and you have your sauce

Mix the vegetables with the sauce and tip into an oven dish
Roll out the puff pastry on a floured board to the size of your dish, place on top of the mix and seal the pastry edge with a fork
Brush the top of the pastry with milk, poke a couple of holes in the top to let steam out, and bake for about 20-30 minutes in the centre of the oven, so the pastry is a golden colour
Suggestions
Use Parmesan, or mature cheddar cheese
Add a teaspoon of French grain mustard to the sauce
Excellent for using leftovers of root vegetables and cheese