Master Recipe
Vegetable Pot Pie
serves 6 to 8
NOTE: The abundant use of vegetables makes this pie hearty
enough to serve as a main course. If you like, use chicken broth in
place of the vegetable broth.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium-large onion, finely chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
2 small celery stalks, cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
5 medium red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
24 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups vegetable stock
11/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons dry sherry
3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 recipe Rich, Flaky Pie Dough, 1 recipe Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits or variations, or 1 sheet (about 9 ounces) frozen puff pastry
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat oil in medium Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery; sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic and potatoes, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add asparagus, cover again, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl.
2. Heat butter over medium heat in empty pan. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook about 1 minute, stirring. Whisk in vegetable stock, milk, and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in sherry.
3. Pour sauce over vegetable mixture; stir to combine. Stir in peas and parsley. Adjust seasonings. (The filling can be covered and refrigerated overnight; reheat before topping with pie dough, biscuits, or puff pastry.) Pour mixture into 13 x 9-inch pan or six 12-ounce ovenproof dishes. Top with pie dough (see figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), biscuits (see figure 6), or puff pastry (see figures 7 and 8); bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 minutes for a large pie and 20 to 25 minutes for individual pies. Serve hot.
VARIATIONS:
Vegetable Pot Pie with Winter Root Vegetables
Follow Master Recipe, decreasing potatoes to 4 medium and adding 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut crosswise, 1/4-inch thick, and 1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice, with garlic and potatoes in step 1. Increase cooking time to 9 minutes. Omit asparagus. Season with salt and pepper to taste and proceed as directed.
Vegetable Pot Pie with Wild Mushrooms
The soaking liquid used to rehydrate dried porcini mushrooms replaces some of the vegetable stock used to enrich the sauce. Parmesan Biscuits are particularly good in this recipe.
Follow Master Recipe, soaking 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms in 2 cups warm tap water until softened, about 20 minutes. Lift mushrooms from liquid, chop mushrooms, strain liquid, and reserve, adding enough vegetable stock to make up 2 cups of liquid. Proceed with recipe, adding reserved porcini mushrooms along with 10 ounces sliced white button mushrooms, 4 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms, and 8 ounces sliced crimini mushrooms along with garlic; cover the pot and cook for 6 minutes. Add potatoes, cover, and cook 5 minutes more. Omit asparagus. Season with salt and pepper to taste and proceed as directed.