Background for this one: My husband loves pot pie, I love pot pie, and having pot pie together = <3.
For the most part I have only ever had pot pies out of the freezer section. My favorite has always been the vegetarian Amy's single-serve pot pies (which I still think are good, freezer section or not) but this past week I decided I was going to spread my proverbial kitchen wings and give a homemade pot pie a shot.
The result was love at first bite.
And I am sure the main question on your mind is--what's the meat substitute? Tofu? Nothing?
The answer is: Quorn-brand roast "Turk'y". Absolutely delicious trickery made of science and magic. I personally think that it tastes better than real turkey, and since I am biased I would also like to cite that my meat-eating husband agrees. Quorn brand can be a little on the pricey side, though, ($9 at Wegmans for one "turkey" roast) so it is not 100% necessary to the recipe to use it. You can substitute many different fake meats if you so choose. My brand recommendation (Other than Quorn) is MorningStar--similarly delicious trickery, although generally less authentically meaty-tasting.
I would also like to add the disclaimer here that I used frozen veggies in this recipe to offset the price of the "turkey," and I am fully supportive of using fresh veggies instead. However, I think frozen veggies get a bad rap--mostly, they are flash frozen when fresh, so for recipes where you are going to cook them anyway, frozen tastes just about as good as fresh.
So let's get down to it:
Prep Time: 30-45 mins
Cook time: 1 hr 35 mins (if "turkey" not pre-cooked)
Serves: 2-8, depending on sharing capability. My husband had 3 slices for dinner and took 2 slices for lunch, so our pie only served 2.
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp salt
For the filling:
1 Quorn Turk'y Roast
1 small package frozen casserole veggies*, about 3-4 cups, thawed and chopped
2/3 cup frozen peas
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cups bouillon (see Step 4)
1/3 cup soy milk
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1/2 stick butter (or 1/4 cup)
Salt to taste (I only needed a couple pinches)
(*Potatoes, carrots, celery & onions)
Directions:
For the crust:
1. Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Add milk and oil. Mix until moldable but not tough. Cut dough in half.
3. Roll out half of the dough and use to line to bottom of an 9" pie pan.
*For additional process photos, see dough steps for Apple Pie and Sweet Potato Pie.
For the filling:
1. Follow the directions to roast the "Turkey". Shave off about 5-8 minutes from the cook time, since it will be re-cooked in the pie itself.
Cut off the ends.
If you fold the ends inside-out, the "meaty" part will pop out of the plastic without an issue. Good to snack on while you're cooking!
Peel off the plastic wrap.
Slice into rounds, then chop.
I only ended up adding about 1/2 of the roast, but feel free to include the whole thing if you like (and if your pie plate has room for it).
Also chop the onion and the casserole vegetables.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat.
Add the chopped onions and the onions from the casserole mix. Cook until tender, stirring frequently.
3. Add flour and stir until evenly mixed.
4. Prepare stock using an extra bouillon cube. (i.e., if stock calls for 2 bouillon cubes to 2 cups water, use 3 bouillon cubes to 2 cups water.)
Add half of bouillon to onion mixture.
Allow to thicken considerably... (This only takes 2-3 minutes)
...Then add second half of the bouillon and mix well.
5. Add soy milk, mix, then add casserole vegetables and peas.
Then the cubed "Turkey".
Cook for another 5-10 minutes, until liquid thickens and vegetables are getting tender.
6. Pour mixture into pie pan. I accidentally used the 1-inch smaller pie plate this time around, so it was VERY full.
Roll out second half of pie crust and lay over the top of the pie.
Pinch the edges of the two crusts together.
Cut 4 slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape.
7. Place on a tinfoil-lined cookie sheet (to avoid bubbling over messes) and place into 375-degree. I have this new "invisible" tin foil, so it just looks like I forgot my own step. There's still a cookie sheet, in my defense.
Bake for about 50 minutes-1 hour, or until crust is crispy.
See the bubbling-over-messes we talked about? This will be on the bottom of your oven if you don't use a cookie sheet.
Broil on high for 2-3 minutes to add a little crunch, if desired.
8. Allow to cool for at least 30 mins if you're patient. If you're like us, cool for 15 minutes and complain about how hot it is while also commenting how delicious it is.
Some verbatim comments from hubby for this one included: "This is the best pot pie I've ever had," "No, this is the best meal I've ever had," "This pot pie is bangin'," and "I will be dreaming about this pot pie tonight." I forgot to ask this morning if that actually happened or not. Needless to say, after dinner I had to fight him away from the remaining half of the pie so that we could have some leftovers for lunch today.
Possible kitchen hacks for less time/money:
-Substitute 1 cup of frozen onions for the fresh onion
-Substitute a pre-made pie crust for Steps 1-3
-Substitute cow's milk for soy milk in crust and filling
Kitchen credits:
-The pie crust is a family recipe.
-I referenced and (very) loosely based my recipe on the wonderful Ina Garten's Chicken Pot Pie recipe.
Enjoy!
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