This pie crust is a great alternative to pastry. Once made, you can fill it with your favorite savory pie fillings.

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 65-75 mins

Ingredients:

1 cup polenta/cornmeal

3 cups water

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast or grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

For the crust:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

2) Place the stove onto high and bring the water to a boil in a medium pot. Gradually add in the polenta while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Turn the stove to medium heat and continue to stir the polenta for approximately 10-15 minutes until it becomes thick and a little challenging to stir. Mix in the remaining polenta crust ingredients.

3) Place polenta mixture into a greased pie dish and spread out until it covers the dish evenly. Place the crust in the oven and bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until the crust had hardened. Use as the crust for your favorite savory pie or quiche recipe.

Prep time: 15-20 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Vegetable Turnovers

These veggie turnovers are super easy! You can alter the veggies you use based on taste. Other veggie options that would be tasty include kale, mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers/capsicum or broccoli. Also if you don't have tarragon then parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage or oregano would all work well.

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat pizza dough (I use store bought, but you can make this yourself if you choose)

1/2 of a zucchini

1 ear of corn

3/4 cup green peas (frozen or fresh)

1 1.2 cups Butternut squash, diced

1/2 of a small red onion

2 tablespoons of goat cheese (or a dairy-free cheese alternative if you want this to be vegan)

2 teaspoons of tarragon

1/2 habanero pepper thinly chopped (omit or adjust based on spice tolerance)

Salt & pepper to taste

Olive oil

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2) Preparing the vegetables: Dice the zucchini into small pieces. Remove the kernels from the corn. Remove the skin from the squash and dice it into approximately 1/2 inch pieces. Slice the onion into small wedges. Crush/chop the garlic.

2) Place the butternut squash pieces onto a tray. Coat with a small amount of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and roast the squash until it is soft on the inside and has a slight crispiness on the outside.

3) While the squash is roasting, heat a small amount of oil in the pan. Fry the onion until it begins to turn slightly crispy- approximately 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, habanero pepper, zucchini and corn and continue to fry until the vegetables are cooked through. remove from heat. Stir in the tarragon and goats cheese and season with salt/pepper to taste.

4) Cook the green peas and then mash them slightly.

5) Separate the pizza dough into 4 equal segments. Roll out each segment until approximately 4 mm in width.

6) Once the squash is roasted, turn the oven down to 350 degrees F. Mix the roasted squash in with the zucchini/corn mix.

7) Divide the vegetable mixture into four equal parts and place onto the center of each piece of dough. Divide the peas and place them on top of the vegetables. Fold the dough over and join the edges together with a fork.

8) Lightly spray or brush a baking tray with oil and place the turnovers onto the tray. Brush a small amount of olive oil on top of each turnover and then place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes and then turn over and bake for a further 10 minutes (baking time may need to be adjusted based on your oven. Turnovers should be ready when the crust has turned golden brown).

8) Serve with a salad or enjoy on their own!