Vegan Moroccan Tagine Pies

My home-made vegetarian and vegan pies with their various fillings have been very popular with friends, family and readers alike, but there are some things I would not put in a pasty base.

It actually makes me cringe when I see what some people put into their vegetable pies. I think yes, its great that you can make a good pastry base, but please don't assault our taste buds with any old vegetarian filling. For a start, I would not put Mushroom Bouginionne or Thai Red or Green Curry in a pastry base. Its just so wrong, on many levels.

Indian spiced curried pies such as Aloo and Gobi (Potato and Cauliflower) work well, of course they do hence the popularity of samosas in South Asian culture: and so do those packed with cheese and onion (pasties) and mushrooms such as my Portobello Mushroom, Puy Lentils and Ale Pie or Butternut Squash, Feta and Chickpea Pie in Western culture, but some just simply do not work. How do I know this?! because I'm an experimental cook and I've tried pretty much every combination. Once I know it doesn't quite work, then I won't do it again.

Anyway, with this in mind I went about taste-testing another pie filling -Moroccan Tagine. Perhaps I am a bit of a food snob, but I have to be honest and admit, I don't think I would do it again in a hot water crust pastry. It just did not taste right. Some things are best left alone.

What are your thoughts on this?

Not one to waste, I served this particular Moroccan Tagine pie with sauteed greens, spiced couscous and harissa oil. But I would strongly recommend making the recipe as pictured below au naturale - the way it should be. Follow here.