Did you know that purple carrots have more nutrients and antioxidants than regular orange carrots? You probably did, cuz you're smart.
Purple carrots from my garden! I was finally able to harvest some.
Autumn is in full swing here in the PNW with spatterings of blustery days and my perpetual hot tea by my side. Gone are the summer days where a nice mix of fresh veggies with beans would fill me up for dinner; heartier meals are required.
When I stopped eating meat, I discovered this Thyme and White Bean Pot Pie recipe from The Minimalist Baker and it was immediately added to my list of go-to recipes. With this last round of modifications to the recipe, I even found myself going through a split-second ingredient check in my head a couple times to make sure I was really supposed to be eating what I was eating.
Sidenote: Do any newer plant-based eaters/vegans still stop mid-bite in a slight panic because you think you might have eaten something that you're not supposed to be eating anymore? Kind of like you think you may have accidentally "relapsed" without being conscious of the act until you're on the second or third bite. I only do this rarely now, but when I do it's when I'm eating something phenomenally delicious...like this pot pie.
Back to the recipe...so, here it is with my alterations and modifications.
Ingredients:
- Filling:
1 onion (diced)
1lb carrots (diced into small pieces that will cook rather quickly)
1 heaping cup green beans (chopped into pieces about 1/2 inch long)
1 cup fresh or frozen peas (optional)
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups veggie broth
2 t fresh thyme
15oz canned or cooked beans (rinsed and drained; any kind of beans will do)
salt and pepper to taste (smoked salt if you have it)
- Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 t salt
4oz vegan butter
4-7 T cold water
Carrots, onions, and beans sautéing. Beans are purple too; snagged those from Alvarez Farms.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat stock pot on medium heat and add onions and carrots. (You can add oil if you're worried about the veggies sticking to the pan, but I just add a little water if that starts to happen.) Cook until carrots are soft (5-7 minutes) and season with salt and pepper. Add green beans and peas in at the end and cook just until the peas are thawed (if frozen) or slightly cooked. (The peas are optional only because I was going to add them but forgot to buy them at the store. I love peas in pot pie, by the way.) Sprinkle flour in and stir thoroughly, then gradually add the veggie broth making sure to scrape the bottom. Add thyme and beans. Lower heat and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and keep covered while preparing the crust.
Filling after the flour has been added.
For crust, stir flour and salt together in a bowl. (I use whole wheat flour and it turns out great, but you can also use regular flour.) Measure your vegan butter using a kitchen scale (or if your vegan butter has ounce markers on the package like real butter, use those). Add vegan butter to the flour mixture and cut in with a pastry cutter until you have a crumb-like mixture. Then add the water one tablespoon at a time and incorporate thoroughly until you have a nice dough that's not too sticky. Form the dough into a ball, transfer to a clean floured surface, and roll to about 1/8 inch thickness. (Here are some tips if you're not used to working with dough: It works best to roll the ball of dough out with the rolling pin a bit then flour the rolling pin so that the flour actually sticks, then roll the dough out some more. After that, flip your dough over and lightly flour the surface underneath. Continue rolling and lightly flouring as needed to keep dough from sticking and until you've reached the desired thickness.)
Pre-oven.
Pour filling evenly into either a 12-inch round oven-proof dish or cast iron pan, or a 9x12 baking dish and gently lay your crust on the top. I sprinkled a bit of smoked salt on top (an idea that I stole from one of our favorite restaurants). Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is slightly browned. And then eat the whole thing by yourself in 2 1/2 days.
Pot pie perfection.