Flaky, delicious pastry, filled with sweet melt in your mouth butternut squash, deep green earthy kale & crunchy almonds. This Kale Almond Butternut Squash Pie has only 6 ingredients and the pastry can be made in minutes in a food processor!
Who doesn't love a good pie? I know I do and this Kale Almond Butternut Squash Pie turned out so well that I couldn't wait to share it with you. Between creation and typing this up I have made this pie a total of four times as I love it so much. What with this and my amazing Pumpkin Pie With Caramel Sauce, I have been eating far too much pastry so have now put myself on a ban until at least Christmas!
This is a flavour combination that I have never seen elsewhere. It is kind of very, very loosely based on the filling style of a Cornish Pasty. As I am originally from Devon and lived right on the border to Cornwall, Cornish Pasties are something I was brought up eating. This pie has none of the same ingredients (bar the pastry and onion) but just like a Cornish Pasty the raw ingredients go in as they are and steam inside the pastry case as it cooks. The resulting filling ends up moist, sweet and delicious without any added sauce or gravy. The soft interior and the crisp, golden pastry are so good together and the almonds in this version add a delicious nutty, crunchy, texture and compliment the squash perfectly.
Pastry can never be deemed particularly healthy but making it yourself with good quality ingredients helps make it a little better for you. I try to use wholewheat or spelt flour in my recipes where possible as they are generally healthier than white flour but in this pie, white flour gave the best results in both taste and appearance.
Making pastry can be pretty daunting, especially when it's vegan pastry, but please don't be put off. The pastry for this Kale Almond Butternut Squash Pie is so easy, especially if you have a food processor. If however it is something you really don't want to attempt then buy a pastry case. A lot of the ones you find in the freezers are actually 'accidentally' vegan. That way all you need worry about is the filling which is a piece of cake to throw together.
Fat is an essential element in pastry and I choose to use Nutiva Coconut Oil because I know that it is ethically produced and of great quality. It also makes great pastry! Nutiva produce both refined and unrefined coconut oil. Unlike other companies their refined coconut oil is made though a certified organic steam refining process and absolutely no chemicals are used. The refined is a lot cheaper than the unrefined and perfect for recipes where you do not want a coconut flavour to come through in the finished dish.
Please bear in mind when choosing coconut products that some coconut producers use monkeys as slaves and have them picking coconuts all day in terrible conditions. See this article from The Huffington Post or do your own research for more information. Children are also sometimes used to do this work. Animal Place has compiled a list of companies that do not use these terrible practices and you can find that here. Nutiva is on this list.
As far as pies go, this Kale Almond Butternut Squash Pie is pretty quick and easy to make and is delicious straight from the oven as well as cold. It is great served as part of a meal with gravy (perfect for Thanksgiving), served with a big salad or just simply eaten on it's own with some natural tomato ketchup...(one of my guilty pleasures)!
I am so excited to share this Kale Almond Butternut Squash Pie with you and am dying to know what you think of it so please leave your comments below and post your pictures on Instagram or Twitter. I am @avirtualvegan. Tag your posts with #avirtualvegan on Instagram so I don't miss them.
Butternut Squash Kale & Almond Pie
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 500g | 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 210g | 1 cup coconut oil , hard & refined, If your coconut oil is soft then put in the fridge for a little while before you need it.
- 11 tablespoons iced water (see recipe note)
For the filling
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 615g | 3 heaping cups butternut squash , cubed
- 4 large kale leaves , stems removed and chopped
- 30 raw almonds , roughly chopped
- salt
- pepper
For the glaze
- a couple of tablespoons non-dairy mik
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place your pie dish in the fridge.( I used a large pie dish measuring 25.5 cm wide and 5.7 cm deep).
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Add the flour, oil and salt to a food processor and process for a minute or two until well combined.
- Gradually add the water until you have a smooth pliable dough. Check it by feeling it.
- If you do not have a food processor then add the flour, salt and oil to a bowl and rub the oil into the flour with your fingertips until your mixture resembles bread crumbs. Gradually add the water, stirring with a knife then use hands to form into a ball.
- You do not need to refrigerate this pastry before rolling unless it is very hot in your kitchen. When it gets cold it gets very hard and difficult to roll so it is easier to do when it is at room temperature.
- Split the dough in half. Roll out one half to about 3-4 mm thick and line your pie dish. I did not blind bake my pastry as I know that my pie dish radiates the heat well and I don't tend to get soggy bottoms with dryish pie fillings but if you at all unsure I would advise blind baking. There is nothing worse than a soggy bottom!
- To blind bake line the pastry with a sheet of baking parchment ( to make it fit inside more easily screw it up into a ball then pull part before lining the pastry. Fill the pie dish and parchment paper with baking beans , rice or dried beans.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and gently lift out parchment paper and beans.
- Allow to cool.
- Fill pie with butternut squash, kale and onion then sprinkle with almonds.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Roll out the remaining half of pastry.
- Brush the sides of the pie bottom with non dairy milk then lay the top gently across. Press down well around the edges and make sure it is well sealed.
- Brush the top with non-dairy milk.
- Make a small incision in the middle to let trapped air escape while cooking.
- Bake on 425°F for 40 - 50 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is soft when you insert a knife into it..
NOTES
NUTRITION
Alexia Neubauer says
Can you make this pie with frozen butternut squash? Would it go in frozen or thawed?
A Virtual Vegan says
I've never tried it, in fact I've never used frozen butternut squash. My worry would be that it would be wetter than a fresh squash would be and make the pastry soggy. You might get away with it though. I think if I were going to do it I'd put it in frozen and just add 5 to 10 minutes on the cooking time. The really cold squash will keep the pastry nice and cold and make it crisper.
Abbey says
Can you use gluten free flour instead? This looks amazing!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! I have no experience of making gluten free pastry so I can't say for sure, but I would imagine it would be fine with an all purpose gluten-free blend.
Juliana says
Have you ever had success freezing this pie?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't tried freezing it, but I am sure it would be fine. I have made and frozen Cornish Pasties lots of times and they are pretty similar in concept. I would freeze it raw before cooking. Put it on a baking sheet in the freezer uncovered, then once it's hard, you can remove the tray and cover it with a bag of some kind. That will ensure the pastry doesn't get damaged. Then thaw and cook as per my instructions. It could probably also be cooked straight from he freezer on a slightly lower temperature but I can't say hw long it will take. It would be a case of trial and error!
Emily Kiara says
we do not need to cook the kale, onions and squash first before placing them into the pie?
A Virtual Vegan says
No it all goes in raw. It steams itself cooked inside the pastry case and becomes all sweet, soft and delicious!
Hatti | isthisfood says
This looks delicious!!
I love your 'pastry ban' - I'm a pastry fiend and, if I wasn't careful, would easily choose two pastry-based courses when out for a meal if I wasn't careful! Dare I ask how your ban went?!
Hatti | isthisfood
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! The pastry ban is still in effect. I've been a good girl.I love it though and the pastry in this pie recipe is so good. I am however planning a pie for my Christmas dinner so the ban will end then but it's Christmas so I'm allowed right?
watchlearneat says
This pie looks amazing and the flavor combination sounds awesome!! Great idea to add almonds! :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much! It's so tasty and the almonds give such lovely texture.
Brian Jones says
Now that is what I call a pie! I am on a monster pumpkin fest at the moment and not thought abut using it in a pie, excellent job on the pastry too!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Brian! I am quite proud of that pastry. It's so good! Watch out for more recipes featuring it in the future.
joylovefood says
I love savory pies, this sounds like a delicious combination!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you!
Gill Millman says
am i going mad? where does the onion fit in?
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha ha! No you're not going mad, I am!! The onion is part of the filling and goes in with the kale and squash. I must have missed it in the method but will add it tonight. So sorry for the confusion and well spotted!!
khadija says
oh my this looks so good and it has my favorite butternut squash in there! saved thanks for sharing
A Virtual Vegan says
You can't beat good old butternut squash!
Willow says
I have to admit, I am not a big pie lover, but a sweet and savory pie I can do! Great combination of flavors Melanie!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Willow!
Mary says
This pie looks fantastic. Good to know that refined coconut oil is the way to go here (and makes me feel good about the Nutiva in my pantry).
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Mary and I am glad your coconut oil is on the 'safe' list!
veggiesdontbite says
I love a savory pie! All the ingredients sound so darn good. YUM!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you :O) You just can't beat a good old home-made pie!
Mark, CompassandFork says
What a stunning looking pie. Nice and thick and full of surprises. Nice photo also. Thanks for sharing.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Mark!
Lokness @ The Missing Lokness says
Wow... I have no idea that some people use monkey to harvest coconuts. That is very surprising. I will make sure to choose a good coconut oil brand. Thanks for pointing that out.
Back to the pie, it is beautiful! That crust is nicely golden brown. The kale and squash filling sounds tasty too!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much! I had no idea about the monkeys until a few weeks ago. We can help so easily though by choosing where we spend our dollars carefully.
Sal says
That pastry crust looks pretty good. I never do pies because I am not a baker and usually screw up the dough. This is one I would try.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Sal. This pastry is so easy. Let me know what you think if you give it a try!