- For the caramelised onions, set a large, heavy-based pot over a medium-low heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, once warm add the onions and a good pinch of Maldon Sea Salt. Cook gently, stirring every so often to make sure the onions aren’t catching on the base of the pot, for 40-50 minutes until deeply caramelised.
- Add the butter, caraway seeds and chestnuts. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes until it smells fragrant and the chestnuts have lightly browned. Remove the the heat and set aside to cool.
- As the onions cook, preheat the oven to 200C fan. Arrange the squash on one large roasting tray, and the beetroot on another. Drizzle with olive oil and season with Maldon Sea Salt. Roast for 30-35 minutes until completely tender and golden. Set aside to cool.The onions and root vegetables can be cooked a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
- Wash the spinach thoroughly. Set a large pan over a medium heat and add the spinach. The residual water from washing will be just enough to encourage the spinach to soften. Once just wilted but still bight green, remove from the heat and, once cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible. Season the squeezed spinach lightly with nutmeg, lots of black pepper, and Maldon Sea Salt to taste.
- When you’re ready to assemble, roll out the puff pastry sheets to about 2mm thick. From the first sheet, cut out a circle 30cm in diameter. From the other sheet, cut out a circle 25cm in diameter.
- Spread the onion mixture onto the smaller of the two circles, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Arrange the squash slices on top, followed by the beetroot slices, and finally the spinach, shaping the filling into a dome shape as you go.
- Brush the exposed border with a little egg then drape over the larger pastry circle, using your hands to smoothly encase the filling. Lightly score the pastry with a sharp knife from top to bottom, working around the circle of the pithivier. Transfer to the fridge for 20 minutes or so as you preheat the oven to 180C fan.
- Brush the pithivier with egg wash all over and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Mix the horseradish, crème fraiche, dill and lots of black pepper to serve alongside the pithivier.
Serving: 6-8
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the caramelised onions and chestnuts:
3 tbsp olive oil
4 large onions, thinly sliced
50g butter
1 tbsp caraway seeds
180g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
For the root vegetables:
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1cm thick slices
350g beetroot, peeled an cut into 1cm thick slices
4 tbsp olive oil
For the spinach:
500g spinach
⅓ nutmeg kernel, finely grated
To assemble:
2x 320g sheets puff pastry
1 egg, for brushing
Maldon Original Sea Salt
To serve:
3 tbsp creamed horseradish
3 tbsp creme fraiche
Small bunch of dill, finely chopped
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