Improv Pot Pie

I <3 Pot Pie, especially in the winter when you just can't seem to warm up no matter what you do. It has been a very harsh winter so far where we are and this recipe couldn't have popped up in my mind at a better time! The best part of this recipe is that there really isn't one; this is another one of my "garbage dishes" and I just used whatever I had on hand. So I will tell you exactly what I did/used in this dish but experiment for yourself and see how many awesome combinations you can come up with, because let me tell you, nothing beats an impromptu recipe that ends up tasting amazing! My notes in red are suggestions for modifications to my original recipe

This "recipe" makes 5 individual (8oz) ramekin sized pies but you can use individual disposable pie tins or one big pie. I did end up having about a cup or so of the filling left over.

Pie crust

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

2 sticks of cold unsalted butter (cubed)

1 teaspoon salt

Ice water

Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cubed butter all at once (make sure to keep it chilled until the moment you are ready for this step) and as you are pulsing the machine, add the ice water one tablespoon at a time (slowly!!). Do this just until the dough comes together in a ball. (it usually only takes me 6-8 tablespoons of water). The dough should be in that fine line between crumbly and sticky (meaning it should be neither). Separate the dough ball into two portions, one being about 60% of the dough the other being 40%. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Pie Filling

For this particular filling I used ingredients that I had on hand which were:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped

1 large yellow onion roughly chopped (or cubed)

1 medium turnip cut into 1/2" cubes

1 large carrot peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes

1 each of white/red/and purple potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes

1/2 a head of cabbage chopped into bite sized pieces

1 small bunch broccoli separate florets and peel and chop stem into bite sized pieces

2 cups of vegetable broth (you can use whatever kind of broth you want)

1/4 teaspoon of dried sage

1 teaspoon of dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 small bunch of rainbow chard chopped into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of flour

1 cup of milk

1 tablespoon of heavy cream or milk -Or- beaten egg

You could substitute/add veggies like mushrooms, spinach, or frozen veggies like corn, peas, green beans, etc. If you like you could also add any kind of meat or protein you think will taste good (e.g. Chicken/turkey breasts, beef, pork, tofu, or seitan cut into 1/2" cubes). The general rule of thumb would be that you want to have the filling pretty much cooked most of the way through before putting it in your crust therefore you want to add the ingredients at appropriate times so that they end up being fully cooked at the same time. 

Start by heating the olive oil a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, sauteing it until fragrant, then add the onions and saute until the onions are translucent. At this point, you would want to add all the hard veggies that take the longest to cook; turnips, carrots, potatoes and any other root veggies and meat/protein (if you are using it) into the skillet. Saute for about 5 or 6 minutes or until they start to soften. Add the cabbage and broccoli and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the 2 cups of stock, the sage thyme and bay leaf, reduce the heat to low simmer for another 7-10 minutes. Finally the chard (and/or spinach, mushrooms if you are using). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

While you are waiting for the chard to wilt, make a roux; Heat up a small frying pan over medium heat and melt the 2 tablespoons of butter. Sprinkle in the tablespoons of flour and whisk lightly to prevent the mixture from clumping. Cook until the flour turns golden and no longer smells raw (about 5 minutes) Remove from heat and while whisking add the cup of milk make sure there are no clumps and add this to the filling in large skillet. Adjust seasonings if necessary and continue to simmer the filling for another 5 minutes or until the liquid becomes thick and bubbly.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool while you prepare the pie crusts (at this point add frozen corn/peas/green beans if using since these would already be fully cooked and only needing to be heated through).

Preheat oven to 400ºF

On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out the 60% portion of dough to a 1/16" thickness. Cut out the appropriate size base for your ramekins or pie pans so that there is a 1/2"-3/4" overhang of dough (as shown in picture). 

Gathering scraps, re-rolling and cutting as needed. Fill the dough fitted ramekins/pie pans to the rim with the filling (as shown).

Roll out the 40% portion of dough and cut the tops to just cover the filling, place these on top and fold the overhanging dough from the base over the top and pinch to seal (this is where you can get as fancy or not with the edging as you please).

Cut a vent hole at the top and if the dough on the top is glossy and looking kind of melted you will want to chill the pies before putting them in the oven. Since it is below 0 here I just put them out in my enclosed porch for about 10 minutes but placing them in the freezer for about 15 minutes should suffice.

Place the pies on a foil lined baking tray, brush tops with heavy cream, milk or beaten egg and bake uncovered at 400ºF for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the filling is bubbling over.

Remove, allow to cool for about 5 minutes and ENJOY!!