Christmas can be pretty tough when you are a vegetarian, unless you are with people who are imaginative enough to make dinner interesting, and sensitive enough to the requirements of vegetarians not to roast potatoes in duck fat or to put pancetta in the brussels sprouts. In our house the post-Christmas tradition has been to make a spiced turkey pie with left over turkey and this version was developed to enable Gee to share as much of the flavours and enjoyment of the meal as possible.

Ingredients:

• 1 family Quorn pieces bag
• 50g butter
• 30g flour
• 1tbsp mild curry powder
• 2tbsp of chutney (tip: sweet chutney preferably, or apricot jam works very well as an alternative!
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 125mL milk
• 1/2 a lemon
• Puff pastry
• 1 egg
• olive oil
• vegetables to serve on the side (our suggestions: Brussels sprouts, spring beans, lettuce)

Method:

1. Turn oven on at 200 °C/Gas Mark 7.
2. Gently fry some Quorn ‘chicken’ pieces in oil until they have a bit of colour and then set to one side.
3. In a clean saucepan melt the butter, mixed with the flour and the mild curry powder. Mix well on the heat until you have a roux.
4. In a jug make 250 mL of vegetable stock and add the milk. Give this a stir and add gradually to the roux on a very low heat until you have a smooth velvety sauce; take it off the heat if it starts to split or go lumpy.
5. When you have finished your sauce add back the cooked ‘chicken’, together with two tablespoons of sweet chutney, the lemon juice, season well and mix.
6. Tip the whole lot into a pie dish and top with a sheet of puff pasty. Trim and decorate with additional pastry shapes as required. Glaze with the beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is risen and golden. Serve with your favourite vegetables.