Eating at Home: Pot Pie

Here's a recipe we've used twice this summer when we've been hungry for some less-than-healthy, homestyle comfort food. (Side note: One of the surprising benefits of a vegan diet is that "unhealthy" is a relative term, since even unhealthy vegan meals still contain loads of fresh vegetables and less fat and calories than most meals designed around animal proteins.) We'll start taking pictures of these dishes soon. For now, you'll just have to let your culinary imagination run wild!

Ingredients:
Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets (yes, they're vegan)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 diced yellow squash or zucchini 
2 diced celery stalks
3 diced carrots
1 diced bell pepper
1 sliced leek
1 sliced large onion (I used a yellow onion, but red would be nice)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup dijon mustard (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup spelt flour (any flour will work, but I prefer spelt or whole wheat)
1/2 cup almond milk or soy milk
seasonings

Begin thawing a sheet of puff pastry. I usually just lay it on a towel on the kitchen counter, and by the time I've cooked the rest of the ingredients it's thawed and ready to use.

In a dutch oven with enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom, combine the celery, bell pepper, onion, leek, garlic, and mushrooms. Sauté them on high heat for a few minutes, or just long enough for the onions to become translucent. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the dutch oven, leaving a little bit of room for steam to escape. Stirring only occasionally, let this mixture sit over the heat for 30 minutes or long enough for the onions and leaks to caramelize and the mushrooms to reduce by about half. If the mixture begins to burn you could add a bit more oil, but I would recommend adding some vegetable stock or mushroom broth. It will deglaze the pan, and as it reduces it will add more flavor. Of course, don't forget to season with salt and pepper.

In another pan, on high heat, add the diced carrots and squash to a small amount of vegetable oil. Cooking these separately allows for the water to be evaporated out of the squash before it gets added to the other vegetables. If it were added to the dutch oven with the other veggies, the excess moisture from the squash would keep the onions from caramelizing. Cooking the carrots separately also allows for them to soften and develop some color since they are in direct contact with the pan. Had they been added to the other mixture they still would have softened, but the dutch oven would have been too crowded to allow the carrots much direct contact with the bottom of the pan. Cook the carrots and squash just long enough for the squash to release most of its water. This mixture should also be generously seasoned with salt and pepper.

Add carrots and squash to the dutch oven. Uncover completely and remove from heat. Stir to incorporate vegetables evenly. It is at this point that you should add any additional seasonings. I like to add dried herbs and crushed red pepper. Last time I made this, I also added allspice and ground nutmeg. These would be great flavors for the fall.

In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, begin warming 1/2 cup of oil. Slowly add 1/2 cup of spelt flour. Stir constantly, otherwise the flour will clump and burn. Once a blond roux has developed (all of the flour has been incorporated and the mixture has become smooth with a light brown color), add 1/2 cup of almond milk. Continue to stir until entire mixture is silky smooth. Add roux to dutch oven. Add 1/4 cup dijon.

Move all ingredients from dutch oven to a pre-heated cast iron skillet. Roll out puff pastry and cover pot pie mixture. You can remove the corners of the puff pastry, but I prefer to fold them back toward the middle of the skillet to create an extra layer of pastry. Place skillet in an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until pastry has risen and turned golden brown. Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before eating.