Don't Be Afraid of the Word 'Vegan'
- Unexpected Foodie
- Feb 8, 2016
- 4 min read
I will be the first one to admit that people who were Vegan kind of freaked me out a bit (no offense to all you Vegans out there, I have nothing but respect). No meat? More importantly... no dairy?!?! No CHEESE?!?! Ahhh the horror!!!
Recently though, my fright turned into more of a curiosity. I started following a couple of people on social media that lived full vegan lives, all of whom looked like they were pretty darn happy with their life choices. What really got me was their pictures of the food that could be created with simple vegan ingredients. I started to realize that meatless, non-dairy meals weren't THAT scary, they actually looked delicious!
I decided it was time to get over my fear of the word Vegan and try out some recipes of my own. I took a trip to the library (because yes, I still go to the library. And love it, thank you very much) and found this book -
The Almighty Vegan Bible
If you haven't had the pleasure of making a recipe from this book... what are you waiting for!?! Do it... now! This book is a perfect book for someone who wants to dabble with Veganism. All recipes are completely vegan, and are hilariously entertaining to follow. I can't preach enough.. go and get this book!
So after making a couple of recipes from here, I was a changed woman. I realized that vegan food isn't all that bad.. it can actually be DELCIOUS! And incredibly healthy!
Naturally I was pretty jazzed when I got this book for Christmas
Now, while I'm not ready to dive in head first into full on Vegan life, I am interested in making small changes in my diet to include more plant based food for a whole wack of different reasons. Who knows if I will make the full transition.. for now I am happy with my experiemental cooking!
Which brings me to this recipe....
Vegetable Pot Pie!
Delicious, Nutrituous, and oh-so-good.
This is perfect for a fall/winter day when you want a hearty meal but have little in your fridge. Its so simple to make!
I promise you, I didn't miss the meat OR cheese, not even once :)
Ingredients
OLIVE OIL CRUST
- 3 cups whole wheat pastry or all purpose flour (or a mix of both)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil, well chilled (chilling it makes it more flakey)
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups cold water or non-dairy milk (I used water)
FILLING
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for brushing the crust
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
-1-2 carrots, chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white wine (which you then get to drink the rest of, yeay!)
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups cooked navy or white beans (It's okay to use canned beans... I did)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions
CRUST
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt
- Slowly pour in the olive oil and mix it up so there are little globs of oil about the size of lentils
- Slowly stir in one cup of water and mix it up until a shaggy dough forms. (If there's still too much dry flour, add enough of the remaining water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough comes together)
- Pat into a ball shape and lightly rub another tablespoon of olive oil over the outside
- Divide the dough in half and press each half into a small fat disk
- Wrap each in plastic wrap and put into fridge to chill at least an hour before you get going, or up to 3 days
FILLING AND ASSEMBLING
- Crank your oven up to 425 degrees
- Decide if you are going to use a 9-inch pie pan or individual ramekins that hold about 2 cups (I kind of used something in between, and ended up with 2 small pies)
- In a medium saucepan, heat up the olive oil over medium heat
- Add the onion and sautee until it starts looking golden and delicious (about 5 - 7 min)
- Add the carrot and peas and keep cooking for another 2 or so minutes until everything starts warming up
- Add the salt, oregano, thyme, pepper, and garlic and cook for another minute
- Whisk in the flour and stir so there aren't any dry clumps
- Whisk in the white wine and the broth slowly so that you gont get any big chunks
- Add the beans and let this simmer away for about 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes until it starts to thicken up
- Add the lemon juice and fresh herbs and remove from heat - you should get about 4 cups of filling
- Taste and add more herbs, lemon or salt based on your taste buds
- TO ASSEMBLE, roll out the crust to about 1/4 inch thick and cut it into a round or rounds so it fits the top of your pie pan or ramekins
- Pour the filling in your pie pan or ramekins, greasing the edges and lay the pie crust over the filling
- Use a small knife to cut a couple of vents in there to let the steam out as it bakes
- Brush the crust with a little olive oil and place the pan(s) on a baking sheet
- Put in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the crust looks done
- Let cool, serve, and enjoy!
Makes about 4-5 servings
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