You can make this pie strictly vegan using the coconut pastry recipe that follows; it has a lovely subtle coconut flavour and is delightfully crisp and short. Alternatively, use any savoury shortcrust pastry you like. The pie filling, with its South American flavours, can also be used for nachos, as a taco filling or simply served over the potato & kūmara mash or rice.
COCONUT OIL PASTRY
You need to soak the seeds overnight to activate their gel-like qualities.
I love the deep flavour and mild coconut of a Kerala-style curry. I have replaced the more traditional chicken with lentils and included more lentils in the rice for extra protein but you could serve with plain rice if you prefer. Cooking the onion is the most time-consuming part of this dish, but it is important to achieve a deep, rich flavour. If time is short you can skip the spice mix part and substitute 1 tablespoon of good garam masala instead. Like most curries and stews, this is even better heated up after a day or two; just hold off frying the curry leaves and mustard seeds and adding the cashews until you serve so they stay lovely and crunchy.
Feijoa trees, like citrus, secretly hold the flavour of their fruit all year round. Their leaves, when crushed, are home to the most zesty feijoa scent, like the essence of feijoa skin.
Turnip, when treated harshly, can result in face-screwing bitterness, but if you treat it just right it’ll be sweet, nutty and earthy instead.
This dish utilises every last bit, using mushrooms and leek first to flavour the broth, then to fill the dumplings.
The Mexican marigold (Tagetes erecta) is a tall bush with small, vibrant yellow flowers. To tell if it’s the right kind of marigold, crush up a leaf or flower: if it’s the right one it’ll leave your hand smelling like a fragrant mix of floral papaya, mango and bubble gum. Other varieties of marigold will not work here, but you could use scented rose petals instead.
Mole is a Mexican sauce, traditionally made from a mix of fruits, chillies, nuts, seeds, spices and chocolate. The combinations are quite literally endless and while this particular recipe calls for persimmons, they can easily be swapped out for any number of other fruits.
