Chicken, Sage and Pumpkin Pie

When I think of winter dishes I think of hearty soups and casseroles and of course pies!! This pie is really quick and easy and is packed with flavour.

 This recipe makes a medium pie (for 2)
What you will need:
200g pumpkin, cut into 2cm pieces
3/4 chicken breast or roast chicken, cut into 2cm pieces
Olive Oil
Garlic clove, crushed
1/2 brown onion, chopped
25g plain flour
25g butter
200g chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped sage leaves
1 sheet puff pastry
egg/milk to brush pastry

How to create:
- Oven to 180 degrees
- Place pumpkin onto a tray and drizzle with oil 
- In a frying pan, add some oil then cook chicken until cooked through, remove from pan
- Add butter to pan and melt, add onion and garlic, cook until soft 
- In a small bowl, make a paste with the flour and some of the chicken stock, add this to the onion mixture, cook for a couple of mins
- Add the rest of the stock to the pan, stir well and make sure there are no lumps, bring to the boil then remove from heat
- Put chicken in a bowl with pumpkin and sage, season and then add to the stock mixture
- Pour pie mixture into pie dish and cover with pastry, trim sides if you want or leave them if you want a bit more pastry to have with your filling
- Brush with egg or milk and prick a few holes in the top 
- Bake in the oven for about 30-40 mins or until pastry is cooked and golden
- Serve with roasted veggies

Roast Pumpkin Soup

With rain falling from the sky and a cool breeze at your back, all you feel like is something that will warm the soul, and let me tell you, this soup sure does the trick. This is an adapted recipe from my mum's, it's super easy and delicious.

 
What you will need:
To create:

1 medium pumpkin, chopped in to roughly 2cm cubes (don't be too fussy as you blend it later)
1 small-medium sweet potato, roughly chopped like the pumpkin
1 medium brown onion, roughly chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock (you may need a bit more depending on the size of your veggies)
1 dessert spoon of curry powder
salt and pepper
olive oil

- Oven to 200 degrees

- In a bowl combine the pumpkin, sweet potato, onion and garlic, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the curry powder over, season here, toss to coat all veggies well
- Roast in the oven for about 40 mins (or until cooked through and slightly golden)
- Place roasted vegetables into a large pot on the stove and pour in stock (put a bit less than recommended as you can always add more once you have blitzed it), simmer for about 20 mins,
- Blitz with stick blender, add more stock if it's too thick
- check if it needs seasoning again

- Serve with toast, fresh coriander and natural yoghurt/cream