I love opening my house and kitchen up to friends and family. It makes me happy that everyone knows where everything is kept and feels comfortable to “help themselves,” whether that means making a tea or coffee or finishing off a dish for the main meal, I hope everyone who comes into my house ends up feeling very at home in my kitchen.

A favourite movie of mine is Under the Tuscan Sun because it touches on the warmth that people bring to a house, and the love that it shared around a dining room table, even if all the people at that meal are a mish mash of people who have been rounded up from different corners of your life.

I feel very privileged to have this type of home and I would like to extend this feeling into the Gourmet Getaways website via a guest post. I am sure you will all remember our Chinese student Kristy’s guest post a month or so ago showing how to make Congee.  Her post started me thinking that I would like to do this more regularly.

Ellie is a regular at our house. She has a love of healthy wholesome food, I asked her if she would be interested in contributing to the website, and I would now like to share with you her first blogging experience.

Hello to all Julie’s followers my names Ellie and I'm currently in year 11. I've always loved food and going out to restaurants to try new and exciting healthy dishes. I guess I have my parents to thank for my love of healthy food. For the past 2 years I've started cooking and found out that I don't only love to eat healthy food I also enjoy cooking it!

About 3 years ago I stopped eating junk food altogether, and started questioning what harmful chemicals I was putting into my mouth and my body. It may sound like a dreadfully strict diet, but it has changed my life and the way I eat.  Since then I haven’t looked back, I never crave anything I used to eat because I love the foods I eat and cook now.

My new way of eating has meant I have learned to cook delicious savoury dishes from all different cultures. Now I can't stand eating the same thing all the time, I love experiencing new spices, textures, and smelling the aroma's that great food produces.

For my first spot on Gourmet Getaways I made Curried Vegetable Pies with Parsnip Mash. I made them for dinner last night and they were delicious.  I enjoyed the parsnip mash as it was slightly sweet and creamy YUM! I wanted to cook these because they were not the same ordinary style of pie, they had a delicious curry twist. They looked gorgeous dished up and most importantly they taste amazing.

Whether you’re a vegetarian or not give these pies a go. I made the short crust pastry from scratch using organic ingredients but frozen short crust is fine.

Curried vegetable pies with parsnip mash  

makes:6  prep: 15 mins ( + 30 mins resting time)

cooking: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

Pastry:

Organic Flour

Butter

Iced water

 Method:

Place flour and butter in a food processor and pulse until fine bread crumbs are formed. Allow the food processor to continue and add just enough iced water to allow the pastry to come together. Cover the pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Filling:

400g desiree potatoes, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces

400g parsnip, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces

1/4 cup milk

40g butter, chopped

pinch of salt

1 tbs peanut oil

2 medium brown onions, halved, cut into thin wedges

2 garlic gloves, crushed

400g butternut pumpkin, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces

1 swede, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces

1/3 cup rogan josh curry paste (patak's brand)

1/3 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock

1/3 cup coconut cream

250g pkt frozen spinach, thawed, excess spinach removed, or fresh

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander 

Method:

I used a 12 whole muffin tin but you can use a 12.5cm-diameter round pastry cutter to cut 6 disks from the pastry. Line 6 round 9cm pie tins with pastry. Place on a baking tray in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Place potato and parsnip into a steaming basket in a saucepan of simmering water for 10-12 minutes until tender. Transfer to a bowl. Add milk and butter and mash until smooth using a potato masher. Cover with foil and keep warm.

Bake pastry in oven, bake blind for 10-12 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven Meanwhile heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring until onion softens( 2 minutes). Add pumpkin and Swede, stir to combine. Stir in curry paste and cook, stirring for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add stock and bring to the boil. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes. Uncover and add coconut cream and spinach. simmer, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes or until hot. Remove from heat.

Remove pastry cases from tins. Place on a serving platter. Spoon vegie mixture among cases and top with parsnip mash. Sprinkle with coriander to serve and Enjoy!

Thanks for listening, I hope you enjoy the recipe.