Vegetable Pot Pie

When I was growing up, my mom use to make Chicken Pot Pie all the time, and I loved it. I've been making a lot of lists of things I want to make lately, and I keep coming up with things I used to eat as a kid. Since this was one of my favorites, I decided to try it first. I don't have the recipe for my mom's, but I think I came pretty close. The crust is nice and flaky and the inside is warm and colorful and the perfect meal for a cold day!

Vegetable Pot Pie
Serves about 6

Double Pie Crust
2 2/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Non-hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (I use Spectrum)
3/4 tsp Salt
7-8 Tbs Cold Water (I like to use ice water)

For the Filling:

Gravy
4 Tbs Flour
3 Tbs Vegan Margarine
1 1/2 Cup Plain, unsweetened Soymilk
1 Cup Vegetable or Veggie 'Chicken' broth
Dash of fresh Ground Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Fresh Thyme, finely chopped
1 Tbs Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

Vegetables
About 8 Medium Red Potatoes, quartered
4 Medium Carrots, 1/4" slices
6 oz. Frozen Peas
1/2 Onion, diced
8 oz. Oyster Mushrooms, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/3 Cup White Wine
Oilve oil (about 1 Tbs)
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Boil the potatoes in a large pot until tender. Drain and set aside. Steam carrots until just cooked, not to soft. Over medium high heat, sauté the onions, mushrooms, garlic, and olive oil until the mushrooms just begin to brown and the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the white wine, salt and pepper to taste, and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. Toss the potatoes, carrots, and mushroom mixture together in a large bowl and set aside.


For the gravy, melt the butter over medium heat, the add the flour and stir continuously until a thick, smooth paste is formed. Add the salt, pepper, herbs, soymilk, and broth all at once whisk until the gravy begins to thicken and bubble. Continue cooking and whisking for another minute, and then remove from heat.

Pour the gravy over the cooked vegetables and mix well until everything is evenly coated. Add the frozen peas and mix to incorporate. Set aside.


For the dough,
In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the shortening, and with a pastry blender, cut into the flour until the shortening is in pea sized pieces. Sprinkle one Tbs of the ice water over the flour mixture and gently stir in with a fork. Repeat with the remaining water, one tablespoon at a time till the dough is moistened.

With your hands, form the dough into a ball, taking care not to over-work it, which could lead to a tough, hard crust, which nobody wants. Cut the dough in half and reshape into two balls. On a lightly floured work surface, slightly flatten one ball of dough with your hands.

*For some odd reason, I no longer have a rolling pin??

Roll out the dough, working from the center to the edges until the dough is large enough to fit in a deep dish pie pan with at least 3/4" overhang on the sides. Lift the dough into the pie plate, then trim the dough with a sharp knife to 1/2" beyond the edge of the pie plate. Fill the pie with the vegetable mixture. Roll out the other ball of dough in the same fashion, cut slits in the center for air vents, place over filling. Trim the to layer of dough to 3/4", then fold under the overhand of the bottom crust. With your fingers or the tines of a fork, crimp the edges of the pie top seal together.

Crimped and ready to go in the oven.

To prevent the edges form burning, cover them with foil.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, remove the foil and then bake for another 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling begins to bubble. Remove from the oven and let the pie cool for about 10 minutes before serving to allow the filling to set up (Unless, of course, you live with 3 hungry, impatient boys like I do, then by all means, cut away and just scoop out the oozing filling!!!).

Oozing filling and all! 10 more minutes and it would have looked perfect!

p.s. The best part about making a pie is the leftover dough! I like to roll it out, sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar, and bake it in little squares until they're crispy and golden. When I used to bake at the old restaurant I worked for, the little ladies in the kitchen would get mad at me if I didn't make them!

Cinnamon Sugar Crusts