Thai lentil curry pies with corn on the cob

I love making these ramekin pies. It's basically just a really easy way of jazzing up a casserole - put it in the bowl, whack some pastry on top, then call it a pie. Brilliant! And if you serve it up to dinner guests, everybody does the big "Oooooh!" and "Ahhhhh!" thing, because it looks like you spent hours fiddling around in the kitchen. Big points for impressing people, all thanks to a little bit of pasty. Love it!

Thai lentil curry pies

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (or to taste)
1 onion, diced
1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 red capsicum, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
100 grams green beans, top and tailed, and cut into 3 cm lengths
1 cup red lentils
400 ml tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 sheet puff pastry
Sesame seeds

1 - Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the red curry paste, and cook for a minute or two more.

2 - Add the coconut milk, water and lentils, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until lentils are beginning to tenderise, add the sweet potato half way through.

3 - Add the remaining vegetables, and simmer, covered for 5 minutes, stirring often. The mixture should be nice and thick, with the lentils mushy.

4 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Spoon the mixture into ramekins, then cover each ramekin with a piece of puff pastry. Lightly oil the pastry, and scatter with sesame seeds. Place the ramekins on a baking tray, then bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed up and golden. Remove from oven, let sit for 5 minutes, then serve with the corn.

Corn on the cob

1 corn cob per person

1 - Fill a medium sized saucepan with salted water, and bring to the boil.

2 - Add the corn cobs, and cook for 5ish minutes. Remove from the water, then serve.