Squash, kale and stilton pie

Given the number of vegetables available on the standard Christmas lunch table, you hardly need a vegetarian main, but if you want to go the extra mile, this pie is fantastic. Bake it the day before and warm it up in the oven while you're serving the rest of the food.

Ingredients:

• 1 (750g-800g) squash, peeled and chopped into 1-2cm dice
• 1 large red onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
• 200g curly kale, washed, leaves stripped from their stalks
• 4 tbsp double cream
• 200g blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 ready-rolled puff pastry sheets
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/Gas 7. Toss the squash in just enough oil to coat and season. Roast in a baking dish for about 30 minutes, or until just tender.
2. Fry the onion and rosemary in 3 tablespoons of oil on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened. If it looks like catching at any point, add a splash of water.
3. Cook the kale in the pan of boiling water for 4 minutes, until softened. Drain, refresh in cold water, then drain again and squeeze out any excess moisture. Chop finely.
4. Mix the squash, onion, kale and double cream. Season and cool for 15 minutes. Mix in the blue cheese.
5. Unroll the pastry sheets and cut them into quarters. Lay 4 pieces on a lightly greased baking tray, score a 2cm border inside the edge of each and pile the veg within it. Dampen the pastry border with some water. Lay the other 4 pastry pieces over the top. Gently stretch to cover, pressing the edges down well to seal. Pull the edges up and over slightly to confirm the seal.
6. Brush the top with beaten egg and bake for 25-30 minutes, until crisp, puffed and golden.