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A brown and beige round pie with score marks spiraling out from the center.

Vegetarian Pithivier Recipe

Judith Coates
Make this delicious Pithivier Recipe with roasted vegetables, mozzarella and crisp puff pastry. Plus expert tips for this classic French pie with perfect flaky pastry every time.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course dinner
Cuisine French
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 large red pepper seeds removed and roughly diced
  • 1 medium red onion cut into wedges
  • 2 cups zucchini (courgettes), sliced thickly
  • 2 garlic cloves sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 18 oz puff pastry
  • 4 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste or red pesto
  • 4 tablespoon shredded basil leaves tear rather than cut these
  • 1½ cups mozzarella or goat's cheese
  • 2 egg yolks
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 chopped anchovy fillets optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C/Gas 7)
  • Put the red pepper, onion, courgettes, garlic, and olive oil into a large roasting tin; season with the chopped anchovy fillets (if you are including them), salt, and pepper to taste, and toss together.
  • Spread the vegetables out and roast on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove, turn them over and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until tender.
  • Remove and leave to go cold.
  • Make my puff pastry dough recipe while the vegetables cook and cool.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry until it is about ¼ inch thick, then cut into 4 - 6 inch/15.24 cm discs and 4 - 5½ inch/12.7 cm discs (saucers work fine for this), roll the pastry a little more if necessary.
  • Spread the red pesto over the center of each 14cm disc to within ¾ inch/2 cm of the edge. Spoon the roasted vegetables on top, sprinkle with basil, and top with a quarter of the mozzarella.
  • Beat the egg yolks with 2 teaspoon of cold water. Brush some of the mixture around the edge of each base; lay the larger discs on top and press the edges together to seal, and score with the tines of a fork.
  • Place the Pithiviers on a buttered non-stick baking sheet and chill for at least 20 minutes.
  • The recipe up to this point can be made up to a day in advance.
  • Brush the top of each Pithivier with the remaining egg yolk glaze, then score the pastry lightly with the tip of a sharp knife to decorate. Make a small slit in the center of each to let out steam.
  • Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes until puffed up and golden!

Notes

Help for rolling out the pastry:
  • 500 grams of puff pastry will make 4 pocket pies if you cut the 4-6 inch top circles first and as many 5 inch bottom circles as you can out of the first roll.
  • Then by gently pressing the pieces of leftover dough together to make a second sheet or stacking the pieces on top of one another then rolling them out carefully.
  • Balling up and kneading the leftover pieces from the first roll out will create cardboard dough not light flaky puff pastry you want.
  • Rolling the dough to ⅛ thickness instead of ¼ will also help to make 4 complete pocket pies, especially for the 5 inch tops.
  • You can also choose to start with 650 grams of puff pastry dough which will result in thicker more stable pocket pies.
  • If you are making one 8 inch pie 500 grams will do it. Split the dough in half making two balls with one being slightly bigger for the bottom crust. This is the opposite to making pocket-pie crust.
Tip:
  • Chop vegetables the same thickness to ensure even cooking.

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Nutrition

Calories: 934kcalCarbohydrates: 66gProtein: 22gFat: 64gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 132mgSodium: 980mgPotassium: 408mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2080IUVitamin C: 52mgCalcium: 267mgIron: 5mg
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