Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Vegetarian Pot Pie

We are still on our quest to have one vegetarian meal a week over here. Unfortunately, I still have a couple holdouts, but this hearty pot pie was a sure way to win them over.

The fennel, onions and carrots were cooked butter. The smell of this was amazing.. There really is nothing like the smell of cooking fennel.
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Mushrooms and potato are added to the yummy mix.


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I like to make individual pot pies. The kids think they are cute and it keeps the filling from running out from under the crust. I am not going to lie- I used a pre-made pie crust. I just didn't have the time to go homemade.

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This finshed pot pies smelled and tasted amazing. Rowan and Kodi definitely approved of everything coming out of the oven.


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This recipe is a great way to start introducing a vegetarian diet to your family. the vegetables are hearty and can be substituted with your family's favorites.  Honetly- who doesn't love a good pot pie?!



This recipes will make one large pot pie, or 4 individual ones.


VEGETARIAN POT PIE


Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 small heads fennel, finely chopped (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped (about 2/3 cup)
• 12 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced (about 5 cups)
• 1 small russet potato, peeled and diced small (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low-sodium mushroom broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup frozen baby green peas
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 7 ounces store-bought puff pastry or pie dough, defrosted if frozen

Directions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Melt butter over medium heat in a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan. When it foams, add fennel, onions, and carrots, and cook until just soft and onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and potato, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring rarely, until mushrooms have let off water and are shrunken, about 6 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stir to coat, and cook until raw flavor is gone, about 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully add broth and milk, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add peas, herbs, and vinegar, and stir to coat. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn filling into an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.

Whisk egg together with 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt until evenly mixed. Set aside.

With kitchen shears, cut dough to fit over the baking dish. Place dough over filling and tuck into the edges of the dish. Brush dough with egg wash and cut slits in the top to vent. Place on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and mixture is bubbling, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit at least 5 minutes before serving.



Check out more recipes like this at Wanderfood Wednesday

2 comments:

Big Fat Gini said...

I'm always a little afraid of fennel. I don't know what to do with it, but I DO love pot pie!

Wanderluster said...

I eat vegetarian 7 days a week, so I appreciate this hearty recipe!