Vegetable Pot Pie

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the carrots and season with half of the salt. Add the dried thyme and sauté until the carrots are tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 more seconds.

3. Add the butter, and once the butter is melted, add the flour. Stir the melted butter and flour together to create a roux, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and the milk, and bring to a simmer, stirring continuously.

4. Stir in the frozen peas and the broccoli. Season with the last half of the salt as well as the ground black pepper and celery seed.

5. Pour into a 9×5′ baking dish.

6. Cut a piece of puff pastry into a 9×5′ rectangle. Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush (see note), brush egg wash onto the puff pastry rectangle. Place the puff pastry, egg wash side down onto the pot pie filling. Top the puff pastry with more egg wash.

6. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 F. Reduce the heat to 400 F and bake until golden brown and puffed, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven. Let it sit on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before plating. Enjoy!

Notes:

1. Of course, if you’re a carnivore and aren’t loving the 100% vegetable route, throw in some cooked rotisserie chicken or sauté a chicken breast before adding the other ingredients, and use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth.

2. Since Chad and I are only 2 people, I halved the original recipe to make a 9×5′ dish suitable for 2-3 people. For a more substantial dish, double the filling, place into a deep dish pie plate, and use a full sheet of puff pastry and cut off the edges to create a circle.

3. You get puff pastry in the freezer section of your grocery store, near the desserts.

4. If you don’t have a pastry brush to brush on the egg wash, you can omit the egg wash (it just won’t be as golden brown) or dip a napkin in the egg wash instead and use it as your pastry brush.

5. If desired, sauté 1 celery stalk (cut into 1/4 inch thick pieces) and 1/2 chopped yellow onion. I didn’t have these on hand, and I didn’t find that the dish lacked anything by not having them. But if you have them on hand, do as you please!

6. Adapted from Alton Brown, on foodnetwork.com.