A few weeks ago on the first cold night of the season, a friend held a pie and wine-tasting party. We huddled around mugs of fragrant apple cider and tasted a sample of each homemade sweet and savory pie that guests had brought. My mulled cranberry apple galette almost won for the best pie in the sweet pie category, but didn’t stand a chance against the last tasting of the evening, a tarte chocolat poire chocolat, a French pear and chocolate wonder.

The best savory pie award went unanimously to a vegetable pot pie. Each bite transported me to evenings spent hunched over a hot, popping fire in the dead of winter, watching fine flakes of snow swirl outside. The filling was a complex marriage of earthy and delicate flavors. Creamy, but not too heavy. A thin, butter pastry lay like a blanket on top of everything, and added a satisfying crunch to each spoonful.

Turns out that the pot pie was an adaptation from a recipe of Ina Garten, the delightful Barefoot Contessa herself. I took the bare bones of her recipe (the roux and vegetable proportions) and made it my own. Added mushrooms, parsnips, and seitan, and eliminated the squash and sweet potatoes, since those veggies don’t freeze well and I planned to freeze individual portions for myself. You can easily switch out veggies yourself too to suit your tastes. Perhaps some peas, corn, butternut squash, or fennel?

veggie pot pie
adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe

BUTTER PASTRY:
4 ¼ cups flour
¼ t salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
¼ cup ice water, or more as needed
½ T freshly squeezed lemon juice

POT PIE!:
12 T unsalted butter
2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2+ onions)
1/2 cup flour
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
3 T heavy cream
1 1/2 cups potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch dice (use red russet or fingerling potatoes if you want to freeze the pot pie for later on)
2 1/2 cups carrots and parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 package of chicken-flavored seitan, chopped
splash of brandy or sherry
1/2 cup minced parsley
1-2 T fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1-2 T fresh thyme
s + p

 

PASTRY:

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes, then add it to the flower mixture and toss to evenly coat.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a food processor or your fingers.  If choosing the latter, rub the cubes of butter between your thumbs and two forefingers, producing thin flakes of cold butter scattered throughout the dough.  Once the butter starts breaking up into these flakes, the dough should start looking shaggy.  If the butter starts melting too much and the dough is getting greasy, stick the bowl into the freezer for 10 minutes to cool down.  Work until the mixture becomes coarse and crumbly and the butter is about the size of peas.

Stir the water and lemon juice together, then drizzle over the dry ingredients a little at a time.  Toss with a fork to distribute the liquid.  The pastry will be shaggy but should hold together when squeezed in the palm of your hand.  If not, add an additional few drops of water.

Dump the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and press down on the dough, folding it over on itself a few times until it holds together.  Try not to handle it too much.  Shape it into a disk 1 inch thick and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least 30 minutes while you prep the pot pie.

 

POT PIE:

Melt the butter in a large pot on medium heat. Throw in the onions and saute until fragrant and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the ‘shrooms, rosemary, and thyme, and continue to stir until they soften and brown. Add a splash of sherry and some s + p. Add the flour, lower the heat, and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the stock, bring the whole pot to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes more. Add the cream.  Check the seasoning of the sauce and add a lil’ this and a lil’ that if you would like.

In another pot, boil water to prep the vegetables. Cook the potatoes in the boiling water for about 7 minutes, lift out with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Cook the carrots and parsnips in the boiling water for 5 minutes, lift out with a slotted spoon, and set aside in the same bowl as the potatoes. Blanch the broccoli for only a minute or two, and drain. Add the vegetables, seitan and parsley to the sauce. Stir to combine.

 

ASSEMBLE:

If baking right away:
Pour the pot pie filling into a pie dish, roll out the dough on a floured counter top and lay on top of the filling, cut a few slits in the crust for steam to escape, and bake on a baking sheet at 375 for about an hour until the crust is golden.

If freezing individual pot pies for baking later:
Pour the filling into small ceramic or aluminum containers. Roll out the dough on a floured counter top and cut out the dough so it will fit nicely on top of your individual pie. Lay it on top of the filling, and cut a few slits in the crust for steam to escape. Wrap the top tightly with foil and plastic wrap, and freeze. When ready to eat, remove the foil and bake the frozen pot pie on a baking sheet at 375 for 1+ hours, until the crust is golden and the filling is hot and bubbly.