My old job was located right in Bristol city centre. Close proximity to all kinds of tasty foodstuffs, including the joy of Pieminister Mothership Tuesdays, Pippin doughnut Fridays, and a little place called Royce Rolls, which was just inside St Nick’s Market, and sold super tasty flapjacks sarnies and bits of pastry.

This is my homage to their chickpea and spinach pie.

I miss it.

I kept it vegan, just like the original, by using the olive oil double crust recipe from Vegan Pie in the Sky, which also makes it dairy free, to go with egg free, soy free, and sub out the wheat flour for a gluten-free blend and you have pretty much all the bases covered!

This recipe calls for the olive oil in the pastry to be put in the freezer for an hour or so before you make the pastry, so it gets a little slushy and semi-frozen. I put mine in a sealed plastic bag and popped it in the freezer like that, the thin layer of oil meant that it was ready to go in no time.

Chickpea and Spinach Pie Recipe

Ingredients

Pastry

1 cup olive oil, semi-frozen (see above)

1 cup whole-wheat flour

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/14 tsp salt

6-12 tbsp ice water

1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Filling

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp madras curry powder – or you could substitute your favourite blend of spices

1 onion, diced

8oz spinach, coarsely torn

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

To finish

a little almond milk

cumin seeds

Method

In a large mixing bowl, combine together the flours and salt, then add the semi-frozen olive oil, cutting it into the flour until it appears pebbly.

Add the vinegar to 6tbsp of the water, then add it a tablespoon at a time until it comes together into a soft ball.

(or, you can cheat like me and put the flours and salt in your food processor, pulse to combine, then add the semi-frozen olive oil and process to breadcrumbs. Finally, process while adding the water/vinegar mixture, until it comes together into a ball. I won’t tell anyone)

Divide the dough into two, then place in the fridge to chill.

In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the oil, then add the mustard and cumin seeds and heat until they start to pop. Add the curry powder, then the onion, and mix together, then cook over a low heat for 5 minutes or so, until the onion has softened.

Add the spinach and cook gently so that it wilts down (you may need to do this in stages unless you have a really large pan!).

Add the chickpeas and stir through.

Preheat the oven to 425F/220C and place a baking tray in to heat.

Take the pastry from the fridge, and roll out one of the pieces until it it the correct dimensions for your tin, line the tin, don’t worry if it is a little bigger, you can trim it off later.

Then add the filling, and roll out the other piece of pastry to a circle to fit the top of the pie, lay it over the top, then crimp the edges. Brush with a little almond milk, then sprinkle with cumin seeds.

Bake for 20 minutes at 425F/220C, then reduce the heat to 350F/180C and bake for another 35-40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove from the tin.

What was the verdict?

Tasty! Not quite the same as the Royce Rolls one, I used a slightly more wholemeal pastry, and I think their ratio of chickpeas to spinach was higher, but all in all a good pie!

I served it up for tea with some potato and carrot mash, with added mustard for that extra hit of flavour:

Mr M went back for seconds.

I count that as a success!