Veggie Pot Pie
This was a recipe I whipped up the other day simply because we had a lot of ingredients sitting around but none of the standards we use to make our usual dishes. I wanted to try something new. Aden’s been a vegetarian since before we met but he’s expressed a desire to give some new dishes a try. I decided that chicken pot pie was one of those favorites that some vegetarians probably miss, so I put my own twist on it. The crust came from a Pizza Rustica recipe that Gilda Colannino made famous on the hit RI Public Access show Cucina di Nonna. Her grandson, and my good friend, David Colaninno, appreciated my efforts to adapt it into a vegetarian form. Give it a try, it’s labor intensive but a pretty good meal at the end of the day.
Your oven will be baking at 375 degrees for 1 hour and you’ll need a large frying pan, a sauce pan and a 9X13 casserole (or pyrex) pan (I know, you’re used to round pies)
Ingredients:
Crust-
4 cups flour
3 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup “Iced” water
egg white
Roux-
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. flour
2 1/2 C. milk
1 vegetable bullion cube
1/2 onion, chopped
Filling-
1 C. lentils, soaked overnight (dry lentils soaked in in 2 C. water, drained)
5 slices stale bread
1 1/2 C. broccoli florets
1 1/2 C. green peas
5 Carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Head of Garlic
Olive Oil
Preparation of Crust-
Before you touch anything else measure out your cup of cold water and put it in the freezer.
Like most pie crusts it is essential that the butter is completely soft before you begin anything here. If it’s been out most of the day, or even better yet, since the night before, you can slice it into cubes and begin mixing it in with the flour. Don’t bother with a food processor or blender, you’ll just end up with a mess. It’s really easiest to use your hands. Any type of flour is fine, wheat gives it a little (very little) extra healthyness.
Once the flour is sufficiently mixed with the butter you can add your cup of iced water (you’ll know if it’s ready from a thin layer of ice beginning to form on the top).
A nice dough should begin forming. It should be a little sticky but not to the point where it’s all over your hands (if it is, add a bit more flour).
At this point measure out two balls, one slightly larger than the other, flatten them into circles, wrap them in plastic wrap, and put the in the refrigerator until they’re ready to use.
The Filling-
I started this the same way I start cooking almost any vegetable- but sauteing my chopped garlic with some Olive Oil. You’re going to have a lot of filling so you should do this in your largest frying pan, or a wok if you have one.
Wait until a few of the pieces begin to turn light brown and then add the broccoli florets.
Saute these for a few minutes before adding the lentils that have been soaking overnight.
Saute a few minutes more and then add the peas and chopped carrots.
At this point it’s optional to add the stale bread. I found it gave some nice texture, similar to what I’d been used to in pot pies, but it’s up to you. I had some bread hanging around that had gone stale so, the day before making this, I toasted some slices. I let the slices sit out toasted until I was ready to use them, and they were hard as rocks. I cut them into squares about the size of Crutons (something you could use as a substitute if you wanted) and threw them in at the end.
Now mix everything together real good.
Roux-
Saute your butter and chopped onion together until the onion begins to soften.
Add the flour and whisk until mixed. Keep on a low heat to prevent the butter from burning.
Add the milk and vegetable bullion cube and continue mixing until everything begins to thicken.
Putting it all together-
Get your casserole pan out and preheat the oven to 375.
Take out the larger of the two circles you made for the crust. Roll it out into a large rectangle using plenty of flour. You can put the pan right on top of it to make sure it’s large enough. It should come out a few inches from the side of the pan, enough to completely fill the interior and then some.
Using your rolling pin gently roll up the dough in a circle around the pin, as shown below:
Transfer the dough over to the pan and unfurl it on top. Don’t worry if holes or tears or rips occur, you can fix them with the ample excess coming down the sides just by pressing your dough into the gaps.
Push the dough into all the corners and let it drape over the top so that it completely fills the interior of the pan.
Add your roux to the frying pan you have your filling in and mix it slightly before dumping it all into the pan.
Now take out the smaller circle and again, using plenty of flour, roll out a rectangle. This time put the pan on top of it and, using a knife, cut a rectangle to be the exact size of the pan. Roll it around the rolling pin again and unfurl it over the full pan.
Now, using a fork, bring the excess coming over the sides on top of the top layer of dough and press down around the edges like so:
Next, poke holes into the top with your fork all around the pie and coat the top with your egg white.
It’s now ready to go into the oven.
Cook at 375 Degrees in the center rack for 1 hour. It should be nicely golden brown on top when you take it out. Let it cool sufficiently (25 minutes at least) before cutting and serving it. Enjoy!