Ingredients

Units

Cauliflower Sauce, in bowl

1 onion, halved

2 garlic cloves 60g duck fat (or ghee/butter if you can have dairy) 800g cauliflower florets 150g leeks, white only, sliced 1 tsp dried thyme 320g chicken broth (or water + 2 Tbsp chicken or veggie stock paste) fine sea salt & pepper to taste

In Varoma

600g raw chicken, diced (or if using cooked chicken, add later) 200g pumpkin, thin slices, 1 cm pieces 200g peas 200g carrots, diced

Pastry

300g almond meal (or a mixture of blanched almonds, sunflower, and pepita seeds, milled 10 sec/speed 8)* 2 eggs 1/4 tsp fine sea salt 30g duck fat or lard (or ghee if you're not dairy free)

Also Need

Approx. 12 ramekins.

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Instructions

1. Place all pastry ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and mix 20 sec/speed 4. Remove from bowl, wrap in greaseproof paper, and chill until filling is ready.

2. Place onion and garlic into the bowl and chop at 3 sec/speed 5. Add duck fat or ghee/butter and cook for 3 mins/Varoma/speed 1.

3. Add the remaining cauliflower sauce ingredients into the bowl, place the Varoma dish on top and add vegetables. Poke a hole in the centre for the steam to get through.

4. Place raw chicken on Varoma tray, spreading out evenly, then place in position with lid on top. (See below for pre-cooked chicken.)

5. Cook 20 mins/Varoma/speed 1. Stir vegetables and break apart chicken with the spatula, poke a hole for steam, and cook another 7 mins/Varoma/speed 1.

6. Remove Varoma and place chicken and veggies in a large mixing bowl. (If using pre-cooked chicken add now.)

7. Blend cauliflower sauce 30 sec/speed 9. Add to bowl and mix through veggies. Set aside.

8. Roll out pastry to 2mm thick on a Thermomat or silicon mat, with a piece of baking paper on top of the dough so it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.

9. Cut circles to fit the tops of the ramekins with a blunt butter knife. (Cut gently on the silicon mat – don’t use a sharp knife!).

10. Fill ramekins about 3/4 full with filling, and top with the pastry circles. Place ramekins onto baking trays, and bake in a 180C oven for approx 25 mins, or until browned.

Notes

* I prefer to use activated nuts and seeds – soaked and dehydrated – as they are easier to digest. If using activated nuts and seeds for the pastry, and milling them yourself, you will only need about 250g as they are lighter than raw.
* You can make this NUT FREE by using all pepitas and sunflower seeds instead of almond meal.
* If you don’t have time to make individual pies, you can pour the filling into a large, rectangular baking dish, roll out pastry into a rectangle to fit the dish, place on top and bake for 25-30 mins, until done.