Vegan Fodmap Friendly Roasted Vegetable Suet Crust Pie

If you think that vegan fodmap friendly roasted vegetable suet crust pie is a long title, imagine how long it took me to come with a vegan fodmap friendly meal in the first place. My diet is pure animal protein with the occasional cucumber or carrot stick on the side. It makes it extremely difficult to eat with anyone but especially my best friend who is a vegan.

I miss being able to share food with people and it pains me not to be able to sit down and eat with her. There’s a limit to how many Chinese takeaways and cocktails we can have together before it gets boring (and my inability to drink fruit juice cramps the cocktail opportunities somewhat.)

So I was determined to find something we could both eat and enjoy without needing tonnes of specialist ingredients. Roasted veg are usually pretty safe for me but I wanted to serve something more than just some roasted carrots and parsnips.

Then I discovered something utterly life altering. You can make a roux with oil not just butter. Once I realised I could veganise a roux, the rest of the dish came together. A veloute made with white wine and wholegrain mustard would turn those veg into something much swankier and then I could top it with a suet crust made with the vegetarian version and create a proper meal in the shape of a pie.

I used a lot more wine than most people might want to in the sauce because I couldn’t find a veg stock that was vegan (why do they all have butter or milk except Marigold Vegan Bouillon which is so hard to find?) or fodmap without celery and onion. I might try making this homemade fodmap friendly stock powder for next time but this time I hit the bottle instead.

Vegan Fodmap Friendly Roasted Vegetable Suet Crust Pie (serves 4)

• 2 carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 1/2 butternut squash, cubed
• 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon plain flour (or rice flour)
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
• 250ml white wine
• 100ml vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

• 450g plain flour (or white spelt)
• 250g vegetarian suet
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 250ml water
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

Don’t be freaked out by the long list of ingredients. It’s all very easy and straightforward and you can make the roasted vegetables and the sauce in advance if easier. The suet pastry is best made just before baking.

Peel and chop the parsnips and carrots in good sized batons and the butternut squash into inch cubes. Add the rapeseed oil to a roasting tin and toss the veg well in it. Scatter the thyme over it all, season well and roast for 30 minutes in a 200C oven.

Make the sauce by heating the olive oil in a saucepan until it starts to bubble gently before adding the tablespoon of flour and beating it together to make a roux. Cook it for about a minute to take the raw flavour out of the flour and then add half the wine, whisking it in until the sauce thickens. (If you are using rice flour, it takes longer to thicken I find.) Repeat with the rest of the wine and then the stock. Add the mustard and season well.

Either store the veg and the sauce separately in the fridge at this stage until needed or mix the vegetables and the sauce together in an oven proof dish and set aside while you make the pastry. Put the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and add the suet (most brands are also vegan but check for rogue dairy) and mix it well and season generously.

Add the water and the vinegar to the bowl and mix using your hand in a claw motion to bring it all together. You’d usually use milk which has enough natural acid to activate the baking powder but the water needs the help of the vinegar to get it all going. It’ll be a little bit sticky but not unwieldy.

Put the dough on top of the roasted vegetables and sauce and press it into the corners of the dish evenly without packing it down too much. You could use a non dairy based milk here if you want and if you do brush the top of the pastry with a little milk to give a gloss to it all. Bake in the oven at 200C at 25-30 minutes.

Serve immediately with something like some wilted spinach on the side. It was delicious with a definite hint of wine and just enough heft to be comfort food on a chilly spring evening. The leftovers reheated well and my friend liked the pie so much she hid the last portion in the freezer from her partner. No greater endorsement frankly. I’ll be happy to make this vegan fodmap friendly dish again and again myself….

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