A creamy mixture of leeks and mushrooms topped with a crispy, golden handmade pie crust. This vegetarian Mushroom and Leek Pie Recipe is great when you need a meatless main meal that even the most meat-lovers will enjoy. It is the perfect winter comfort food to serve for an easy Sunday lunch, Thanksgiving dinner, or any special celebration.
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This savory mushroom pie is topped with a handmade flaky&golden shortcrust pastry, the same as I topped my delicious "Steak Pie". It is a great choice to serve both vegetarians and meat-eaters and makes a delicious and easy Sunday lunch alternative. Although it takes a bit of time, it is easier to make than you think and is so worth the effort!
Why This Recipe Works ?
- You can serve the creamy mushroom filling as a stew on its own, it makes a delicious vegetarian meal!
- The leftovers will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- This hearty Mushroom and Leek Pie is very easy to make with step-by-step pictures and instructions.
- This pie is delicious, filling, and a great choice to serve to both vegetarians and meat-eaters.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Unsalted butter - Unsalted butter has a fresher, purer flavour and easier to control the amount of salt going into the pastry. Make sure the butter is very cold and cut into small cubes.
- All-purpose or plain flour - Plain flour has less protein which is perfect for making a crumbly shortcrust pastry.
- Water - The amount of water you need depends on the humidity of the room so add it carefully, just enough to get the right consistency. You might not need all the water given in the recipe.
- Egg yolk - Egg yolk gives a bright golden brown color to the pastry. You can also use a mixture of yogurt and oil instead of egg yolk.
- Dried porcini mushroom - That is my magic ingredient for the mushroom and leek pie filling and I love using it in this dish as it enhances the mushroom flavor. They aren't cheap but they sure go a long way.
- Mushrooms - Chestnut mushrooms work great in this pie filling as they tend to hold their shape much better than other mushrooms when cooked and retain their meaty bite. Alternatively, you can use white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms.
Step-by-Step Instructions
It is fairly easy to make this rich and creamy Mushroom & Leek Pie but to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
Prepare the Shortcrust Pastry
The secret of a flaky shortcrust pastry is the cold butter and very cold iced water. It’s also very important not to overwork the dough.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt, sugar, and diced butter.
Rub the butter in flour with your fingertips until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs.
Add the water gradually just enough to make a firm dough. You might not need all the water given in the recipe.
Knead the dough briefly on a floured surface and turn it into a ball. Wrap in a cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
Prepare the Mushroom Filling
Soak dried porcini in 250ml boiling water for 15 minutes. Spoon out the porcini mushrooms, roughly chop and keep the liquid for cooking the pie filling. Set them aside until needed.
Melt the butter in a large pan or wok on medium heat and then add the leeks. Sauté the leeks for a few minutes, until slightly softened.
Turn the heat up and then add the mushrooms to the pan, sauté until softened and released their juices.
Add the carrots along with the garlic and cook for a few minutes, until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
Sprinkle on the flour and then add the porcini mushrooms. Cook for a minute, stirring continuously.
Pour in the milk and the soaking liquid from the mushrooms stirring all the time to avoid lumps, and continue to cook for a few minutes, until bubbling and the sauce has thickened.
Add the thyme, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and chili flakes (if using) to finish the filling off. Transfer the filling to a 25 cm (10") diameter pie dish and let it cool down to room temperature before assembling your pie.
Assemble The Mushroom Pie
When the filling is cooled down to room temperature, take the pastry out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling it out. Preheat your oven to 180° C - 350° F (fan oven).
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry slightly larger than the pie dish.
Cover the top of the pie dish with the pastry and then trim off any excess with a knife.
Crimp the edge of the pastry along the rim of the dish using your thumb to seal the mixture. Brush the pastry with egg wash
Make some decorations from the leftover pastry using a small knife or small cookie cutters if you want a fancy-looking pie.
Make a hole in the middle to let the steam out while cooking.
Cook your pie in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Allow the pie to cool slightly before serving.
Top Tips From The Chef
- The secret of a flaky shortcrust pastry is the cold butter and very cold iced water. It’s also very important not to overwork the dough.
- You can top your pie filling with ready-made puff pastry if you want to make this recipe a bit quicker and easier.
- Alternatively, you can top the filling with mashed potatoes to make a vegetarian cottage pie.
Recipe FAQs
I love having my creamy Mushroom Pie with some Pomme Purée (Creamy Mashed Potatoes) and a selection of steamed green vegetables or Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts.
Some other serving alternatives are Swede and Carrot Mash, Crispy Sauté Potatoes with Garlic, Turkish Shepherd Salad (Coban Salatasi), and Warm Austrian Potato Salad.
This pie freezes beautifully. It is best to freeze it uncooked and bake it from frozen without needing to defrost it.
Prepare it up to the point where you have topped your filling with pastry and egg-washed it. Place the pie in a suitable container and freeze it.
If you want to freeze the leftovers, let them cool down to room temperature and then put them in an airtight container. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Related Recipes
For more great British recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious vegetarian Mushroom and Leek Pie as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Mushroom And Leek Pie
Equipment
- 1 sifter
Ingredients
For the Shortcrust Pastry
- 115 g unsalted butter (diced and cold)
- 160 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 60 ml water (very cold)
- 1 egg yolk (for egg wash)
For the Mushroom Filling
- 30 g butter
- 450 g chestnut mushrooms or button mushrooms (roughly sliced)
- 300 g leeks (sliced and washed)
- 2 loved garlic (minced)
- 1 carrot (peeled and sliced)
- 15 g dried porcini mushroom (soaked in 250 ml boiling water for 20 minutes and chopped)
- 30 g plain flour
- 200 ml semi-skimmed or full-fat milk
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme (only leaves - chopped)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
Instructions
Preparing the Shortcrust Pastry
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt, sugar, and diced butter.
- Rub the butter in flour with your fingertips until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the water gradually just enough to make a firm dough.
- Knead the dough briefly on a floured surface and turn it into a ball.
- Wrap in a cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
Preparing the Mushroom Filling
- Soak dried porcini in 250ml boiling water for 15 minutes.
- Spoon out the porcini mushrooms, roughly chop and keep the liquid for cooking the pie filling. Set them aside until needed.
- Melt the butter in a large pan or wok on medium heat and then add the leeks.
- Sauté the leeks for a few minutes, until slightly softened.
- Turn the heat up and then add the mushrooms to the pan, sauté until softened and released their juices.
- Add the carrots along with the garlic and cook for a few minutes, until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated.
- Sprinkle on the flour and then add the porcini mushrooms. Cook for a minute, stirring continuously.
- Pour in the milk and the soaking liquid from the mushrooms stirring all the time to avoid lumps, and continue to cook for a few minutes, until bubbling and the sauce has thickened.
- Add the thyme, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and chili flakes (if using) to finish the filling off.
- Transfer the filling to a 25 cm (10") diameter pie dish and let it cool down to room temperature before assembling your pie.
Assembling the Mushroom Pie
- When the filling is cooled down to room temperature, take the pastry out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling it out.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C - 350° F (fan oven).
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry slightly larger than the pie dish.
- Cover the top of the pie dish with the pastry and trim off any excess with a knife.
- Crimp the edge of the pastry along the rim of the dish using your thumb to seal the mixture. Brush the pastry with egg wash.
- Make some decorations from the leftover pastry using a small knife or small cookie cutters if you want a fancy-looking pie.
- Make a hole in the middle to let the steam out while cooking.
- Cook your pie in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
- Allow the pie to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- You can top your pie filling with ready-made puff pastry if you want to make this recipe a bit quicker and easier.
- The secret of a flaky shortcrust pastry is the cold butter and very cold iced water. It’s also very important not to overwork the dough.
- Alternatively, you can top the filling with mashed potatoes to make a vegetarian cottage pie.
- This pie freezes beautifully. It is best to freeze it uncooked and bake it from frozen without needing to defrost it.
Nutrition
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Penny
This pie is delicious, I made this for Sunday lunch and it was a hit! Great recipe.
Emilia
This recipe is great. It tastes delicious. I served it with mashed potatoes and greens.
Darren
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!! Made this tonight the filling was delicious and with the pastry was just perfect.
Dorothy
This is such a great recipe, easy and delicious. Step by step instructions and photos are a great hep for beginners like me. Thank you for the recipe !