Caravan Pie… how I came up with this idea? Well, next week we are going on a camping trip and I want to use up everything I have in the freezer. This is something I always aim to do, but most times doesn’t work. So, I was pondering how the pie should look like while knowing what I’m going to put in the filling. One thing led to another and the caravan pie idea seemed fab. It was. As a design, looks great, very similar to our caravan, but it is not hard to make. I should say it’s even easy to make.

I’ve made pies before, but I think this was the best one. My husband loved it too and told me that a few times. I think the combination of Quorn steak strips and soya sauce was fabulous. I’m going to try it in a few other dishes.

Ingredients for Caravan Pie:

– 450g plain white flour
– 150g butter
– 200ml water
– 600g Quorn steak strips (2 packs)
– 1 big carrot
– 3 medium potatoes
– 1 medium onion
– 2 spoons of oil
– 100g split red lentils
– 4 spoons of soya sauce
– sea salt
– 1/4 tsp white pepper
– 1 tsp dried basil
– 2 tsp dried oregano
– 1/2 tsp garlic powder
– 2 spoons Chia seeds
– vegetarian black food colouring
– silver food colouring, powder

First of all, make the filling. It needs to be cold before stuffing the pie with it. Wash, peel, and grate the carrot and the potatoes. Wash, peel, and chop the onion. In a big frying pan, pour the oil and heat. Toss in the onions and leave them to sweat. Stir so the onions don’t catch the bottom of the pan. Add the grated potato and carrot, and stir. Pour a bit of water and stir. Leave the vegetables to cook for 5-6 minutes. Add the steak strips and stir. Leave to cook for a few minutes. Now is time to add the spices and the lentils. Stir, leave to cook for a minute and take off the heat. Let the filling cool. When is cold, add the Chia seeds and stir.

Meanwhile make the hot water crust pastry. Boil the water and the butter. Pour it over the flour and sprinkle salt on top. Mix with a spoon and leave to cool down. When it’s at a temperature you can knead it, tip the dough on the worktop. Knead for a couple of minutes, until all flour is incorporate. Leave the dough to rest.

Heat the oven at 180C or 160C fan.

Roll the pastry and cut it with a pizza wheel to have sharp corners. Try to replicate the shape of the caravan as much as possible. Have a picture with the caravan in front of you. It will make it easier to decorate too. Put the filling bit by bit, creating the height. Press with a spoon, so the filling is compacted. Roll a big sheet of pastry and cover the pie. Press on the sides and, using the pizza wheel, cut the excess dough. Make a small triangular shape for the front of the caravan, if you have leftover filling, like I did. Press the margins of the dough, so it will not leak. Now is time to use the remaining dough to decorate the caravan pie.

Make the door, window and, using a bit of water, glue them to the pie. Make small holes, replicating where the ventilation is on the caravan. Those holes will let the steam out. Make a few more holes where the rooftop is. Using the food colouring, make black and silver accents. I’ve made a replica of our caravan, using all the small characteristics it has, like the black door handle.

Don’t brush the pie with anything, so it keeps the light colour, making it more realistic. Put the caravan pie in the oven. It will bake in 50 minutes to 1 hour. I recommend turning the pie after 40 minutes. Take it out of the oven. To transfer the pie out use a cake lifter to make it easier. It’s heavy and long, so it can break if you don’t use a cake lifter.

The pie is delicious. I’m going to make it again. Maybe not in the form of a caravan pie, but just a more simple pie. Although, after making this pie, I’m considering making a caravan cake. I enjoyed it so much decorating the pie, that I want to make an even more realistic version of it. While hot water pastry is great to work with, it’s not as easy as with fondant.