A veggie alternative to traditional English pork pies – perfect for picnics or as part of a Ploughman’s lunch! Fun to make and no specialist equipment needed.
I love making these pork pies, as the process is quite fun and satisfying – from pressing the dough into the muffin tin to filling the jelly on top.
But the result is so tasty and makes an excellent snack or lunch to-go.
You can eat these cold straight from the fridge or heat them up if you prefer them as part of a warm meal.
I recommend eating them chilled with a Ploughman’s lunch, and have included a few tips below on how to put this together.
How to serve a vegan Ploughman’s lunch
This makes a really nice lunch for a picnic spread, outdoor summer lunch or gathering with friends.
Some ideas of what to serve:
- Vegan Pork Pies (recipe below)
- Selection of vegan cheeses – choose some fancy nut-based ones from independent sellers, for the best flavours.
I also recommend Tesco’s and Sainsburys’s own brand and Violife selection boxes. - Jarred pickled onions
- Selection of chutneys and piccalilli
- Crusty bread and vegan butter
- Cucumber, apple, radish, tomatoes and salad leaves
Recipe featured in my cookbook ‘Great British Vegan’ – Get your copy now for more vegan British classics!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Pork Pies
The pork pie is one of the most famous staples in British cuisine. Perfect as a quick snack, at a picnic or as part of a ploughman’s lunch.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 275 g / 9 3⁄4 oz plain (all-purpose) flour A pinch of sea salt
- 90 g / 3 1⁄4 oz vegetable shortening
- Aquafaba or unsweetened dairy-free milk, for glazing
For the filling
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp yeast extract or miso paste 100 g / 3 1⁄2 oz shiitake or chestnut (cremini)
- mushrooms, sliced
- 1 x 400 g / 14 oz tin of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 25 g / 1 oz (heaped 1⁄4 cup) chopped walnuts
- 50 g / 1 3⁄4 oz (1⁄2 cup) porridge oats (oatmeal)
- 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1⁄2 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 2 tsp tomato purée (paste)
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
For the jelly filling
- 1 tsp vegan gelatine powder (such as VegeGel or agar agar)
- 100 ml / 3 1⁄2 fl oz (scant 1⁄2 cup) vegetable stock
Instructions
Make the pastry
1. Put the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add approximately one-quarter of the vegetable shortening and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
2. In a small saucepan, heat 100 ml / 3 1⁄2 fl oz (scant 1⁄2 cup) water with the remaining vegetable shortening until it has reached boiling point.
3. Pour into the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a dough.
Make the filling
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the balsamic vinegar, miso paste and mushrooms and cook for a further 8 minutes until brown and sticky. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Add the mushroom mixture to a food processor along with the beans, walnuts, oats, flour, herbs, tomato purée and salt and pepper, to taste. Pulse until you have a uniformly chunky mixture.
3. Preheat the oven to 160C fan / 180C / 350F / gas 4. Brush six holes of a muffin tin (pan) with some oil.
4. Roll out your pastry on a floured surface to 1⁄2 cm / 1⁄4 inch thick. Using a small upside-down bowl, cut out circles that are about 2.5 cm / 1 inch bigger than the muffin tin holes.
5. Gently press the circles into the greased muffin tin holes to create a neat shape. Don’t trim off any extra pastry, but brush the top edge with a little of the aquafaba or milk.
6. Roll the Porkie mixture into six even balls then press a ball into each pastry case.
7. Cut smaller circles, roughly the same size as the muffin tin holes, with the remaining pastry. Make a hole in the middle of each them, big enough to fit a funnel nozzle through. Gently place these over the pies and press down the edges with a fork. Use a small sharp knife to trim off the excess pastry around the edges.
8. Brush with the aquafaba or milk and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
9. To make the jelly filling, simply whisk the vegetable gelatine powder with the vegetable stock in a small saucepan over a high heat. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat. Pour the liquid through a funnel into the pie holes very slowly until it’s just about to overflow. Allow to set for at least 30 minutes. Store the pies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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