As well as being one of the ultimate comfort foods, a good pie is a great way to feed a few people with few ingredients. This pie uses swede, but that can easily be replaced for the more traditional potato, or any other root vegetable.

Shop bought pastry is obviously a great option if you don’t have the time, inclination or flour to make your own pastry. But this home made spelt version is lovely and crumbly and contains parmesan, to make the whole pie even cheesier.

BBC Good Food

For the pastry

• 200g self-raising flour, plus extra for rolling
• 100g spelt flour
• 60g parmesan, grated
• 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 150g butter, chilled, cut into small cubes, plus extra for greasing

For the filling

• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 1 small swede, around 300g, peeled, cut into quarters and thickly sliced
• 450ml whole milk
• 1 bay leaf
• nutmeg, grated
• 10g butter
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 150g mature cheddar, grated
• 1 tbsp white wine or vermouth
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. First, make the pastry. Tip the flours into a bowl and mix with the parmesan, thyme and cayenne pepper. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs, then pour in 2-3 tbsp of cold water. Mix it in with a cutlery knife, then use your hands to bring together into a dough – you might need to add a bit more water. Knead the dough briefly until smooth, then split in half, press into two discs – one larger than the other – wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for 30 mins.
2. Meanwhile, put the leek, swede, milk, a large pinch of salt and the bay leaf in a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10-15 mins until the swede is tender. Season with black pepper and nutmeg. Strain through a sieve, reserving the milk, and put the veg in a bowl. Using the same saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour and cook for 2 mins. Slowly pour the milk back into the pan, whisking constantly to create a silky sauce. Stir in the cheddar and wine and stir until it’s melted, then remove from the heat and allow to cool for a couple of mins before adding 1 beaten egg and the mustard. Season and stir the veg into the mix.
3. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Butter and flour a 23cm pie dish. Roll the pastry out into two discs, using the large disc first to line the dish. Spoon in the filling, and brush a little of the sauce from the filling onto the edges of the pastry. Press the other disc on top and crimp the edges. Make two slits in the top of the pastry, brush with the remaining egg and bake for 30-35 mins until golden.