Red Dragon Pie (Vegan)

Prep Time – 50 minutes

Cook Time – 2 hours and 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 200g dried red adzuki beans*
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• A pinch of dried chili flakes
• 1 large red pepper, deseeded and diced
• 3 garlic gloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• A good bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 650g potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edwards), peeled and cut into chunks
• 25g unsalted butter
• 80g soft goat’s cheese
• Salt and black pepper to season

* If you don’t want to boil dried beans, use beans from a jar and 300ml  of water to replace the cooking liquid

Method:

1. Put the beans in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the thyme and bay leaf, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the beans are tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaf and thyme stalk.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, carrot, celery and chili flakes and sauté until the onions have started to soften, then add the pepper and garlic, and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes until everything is softened.

3. Measure out 300ml of the bean cooking liquid (you can discard the rest) and add the tomato purée and soy sauce to that. Add the cooked beans to the pan with the vegetables, then pour over the bean liquid. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until reduced a little, and thickened. Season well with salt and black pepper, then add the chopped parsley. Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish (about 30 x 20cm/12 x 8in and 10cm/4in deep).

4. Heat the oven to 200˚C/fan 180˚C/gas mark 6. Put the potatoes in a large pan, cover with water, add ½ teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, then drain and mash them with the butter and goat’s cheese. Season with salt and black pepper, then spread it evenly over the top of the bean mixture.

5. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, by which point the top should be starting to brown and the centre should be piping hot. Remove from the oven and serve.

Additional notes

Tip – To make this vegan, simply mash the potatoes with good quality-olive oil instead of the butter and remove the goat’s cheese.

Equipment 

• Hob
• Oven
• Colander
• Large Frying Pan
• Large jug
• Small Ingredient Pot x 3
• Ovenproof dish – 30 x 20cm, 12” x 18” – 10 cm/4” deep.
• Large saucepan
• Potato masher/ricer