Vegetarian (Or NOT!) Pot Pie

This recipe will make TWO pot pies. You can certainly halve the recipe, but for some reason I can’t use just one half of a turnip….while you’re chopping you might as well chop the whole darned thing! You can always freeze the filling for another day if you don’t want to bake both pies at the same time. OR you could bake both and take one to a neighbor!

FOR THE ROUX:

Melt the butter in a stock pot on medium heat and add the flour. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until the roux is thickened and has begun turning a nice tan color – very important to cook this for a bit to get rid of any “floury” taste. Add the vegetable stock and milk to the roux and simmer until somewhat thickened. You might need to add more milk/stock if it gets too thick. It will thicken up more when it bakes. Set this mixture aside and work on chopping the veggies.

FOR THE FILLING:

Dice all the fresh vegetables about the same size and then
saute the diced shallot,onion, mushrooms and garlic until soft. Add the diced turnip, rutabaga, carrots and potatoes to the shallot mixture . Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. You might want to add just a few tablespoons of vegetable stock at this point too so your mixture doesn’t stick to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes or to allow all the vegetables to get happy together. (thank you Emeril!)

THEN: Add the frozen peas, corn, butternut squash, salt and pepper. Add in the thyme leaves and mix really well.

THEN: Add the roux mixture to the vegetable mixture and combine well.

THEN: Place one pie crust in the bottom of a baking dish (I use a Le Creuset type dish). Then spoon the filling onto the bottom crust. Top the pot pie with the second crust (2 usually come in one package!) and crimp the edges around the top of the baking dish. Put a few small cuts in the top crust; pop the dish into the oven (350 degrees), set your timer for 40 minutes and wait for your family to flock to the kitchen as the aroma of this beautiful specimen wafts through the house. Seriously, it’s just so good.

*NOTE: If you have access to Gardein no meat products (which fortunately we do) please try using the “scallopine chicken diced up and put into the pot pie. NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW it’s not your Mom’s Chicken Pot Pie…I won’t tell if you don’t!