This pot pie is going to rock your world. It originates from our dear friend Allison Rivers Samson, who is a genius at magically transforming veggies into savory delights. This recipe takes a little more time to prepare, so pour yourself a favorite beverage, put on some tunes (or maybe an episode of The Plant-Powered People Podcast), and enjoy the process. The time you spend in the kitchen will be well worth it, and this one dish can provide you with many tasty meals throughout the entire week.
Yield: 8 servings
Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 45 minutes | Total time: 2 hours
You’ll need: a food processor and a high-powered blender
Crust:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan butter
¼ cup ice water, plus up to 5 additional tablespoons as needed to form a dough
Vegetable Filling:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups diced yellow onions
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1⅓ cups diced carrots
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon dried basil
¾ teaspoon dried marjoram
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
8 ounces (half a 16-ounce block) extra-firm tofu, drained and sliced into tiny cubes
1 cup frozen green peas
2½ cups cubed yellow potatoes, steamed until soft
Béchamel Sauce:
3 cups water
¾ cup raw cashews
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup vegan butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1. To prepare the crust, combine the flour, salt, and vegan butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. Add ¼ cup of ice water and pulse until the dough clumps together, but do not overmix. When you squeeze the clumps with your hand, the mixture should come together to form a pliable (but not moist or sticky) dough. If needed, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach that consistency. Between two sheets of parchment paper on a baking sheet, roll the dough to a 10 × 12-inch rectangle (about ¼ inch thick). Chill the rolled-out dough in the refrigerator (keep it on the baking sheet to make it easy to transfer) for at least 15 minutes.
2. To make the vegetable filling, heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms, carrots, garlic, salt, basil, marjoram, and pepper and sauté for another 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the tofu, peas, and potatoes. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
4. To make the béchamel sauce, in a high-powered blender, combine the water, cashews, mustard, salt, and nutmeg and blend until completely smooth. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the vegan butter and add the flour. Whisk for 2 minutes until the mixture begins to clump and toast up into a roux. Whisk in the cashew cream mixture. Increase the heat to medium and cook, whisking frequently, for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
5. Pour the sauce over the sautéed vegetables and stir to combine into a stew. Transfer to a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.
6. Remove the chilled crust from the refrigerator and peel off the top sheet of parchment. Lift the bottom sheet of parchment along with the dough and invert the dough onto the top of the stew. Slice 8 to 10 decorative 2-inch slits into the crust as vent holes.
7. Place the baking dish onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for about 5 minutes to lightly brown the top. Serve hot.
Friendly Suggestion: No time to make your own piecrust? Frozen crusts work great with this recipe. You can also bake individual pot pies in small ramekins, topping with a round of crust and slicing an X in the center of each top to vent.
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