It’s comfort food season! With all the holiday entertaining going on, we wanted to develop a meatless, seasonal entrée for you to try for your upcoming gatherings or special winter-time meal. After much research and two unsuccessful lentil loaves (based on this vegetarian nut loaf, which just can’t be beat!), we landed with a potpie. Because who doesn’t love to eat their veggies in gravy with a biscuit on top?

This potpie (inspired by Bon Appétit) is chock full of goodness, including some local mushrooms and kale from the Indy Winter Farmer’s Market. While it takes a bit of time to prepare (read: don’t attempt when you’re starving after a long day at work), it’s ultimately worth it. The gravy was savory and flavorful, and the topping was surprisingly delicious with the addition of cornmeal and parmesan.

You can customize this recipe to the vegetables you have on hand or are in season for you, which is likely where the potpie concept originated (the old clean-out-the-ice box trick!). We used beans for the “protein”, but feel free to substitute in some well-raised and/or local meat if you’re of the meat persuasion.

Enjoy, and let us know what you might include in your potpie!

Thanks to Homestead Growers for the mushrooms and Tranquil Ridge Farm for the kale!

Vegetable Pot Pies
Serves 4
Inspired by Bon Appétit via Curvy Carrot

Notes: You can get creative on your use of vegetables and substitute in or out as necessary!  We’d recommend not using much more kale than what we’ve cited below, since it adds a bit more water to the mix.

We used olive oil for the biscuit topping due to some issues with digesting butter, but the olive oil substitute worked fine, though it was a bit tougher than a biscuit made with butter. Coconut oil would also be an even better substitute, since it brings a texture more similar to butter.

What You Need
3 carrots
1 large parsnip
1 large onion
Small bunch kale, enough for 2 cups chopped
8 ounces mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme (less if it is ground – fresh is best if you have it!)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
3 cups vegetable broth
1 15 ounce can cannellini or red beans (or 1 1/2 cups cooked beans)
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

For the topping
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
6 tablespoons cornmeal
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil, coconut oil, or butter (we used olive oil)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk (or as a substitute, 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, allowed to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes)

What To Do

1  Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2  Prepare the vegetables: Slice the carrot into thin rounds. Peel the parsnip, and slice it into thin rounds. Chop the onion. Remove the stems of the kale, and chop into small pieces (measure out 2 cups). Thinly slice the mushrooms. Dice the two garlic cloves. If using canned beans, drain and rinse the beans. 

3 Saute the vegetables: In a large skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the carrot, parsnip, onion, kale, and mushrooms. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Saute for about 5 to 7 minutes until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally. (While you saute, assemble the ingredients in Step 4 so you’ll be ready to add them. You also could prepare the buttermilk substitute at the time if using; see above.)

4  Add the seasonings: Add the diced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Stir in 2 tablespoons flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, and 1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage. Cook for 1 minute more. Then stir in 3 cups vegetable broth. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gravy thickens. (During this time, go to Step 5 to make the topping.) Finally, stir in the beans. Taste and season with about 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and plenty of fresh ground pepper.

5  Make the topping: In a bowl, stir together 3/4 cup white flour, 1/2 cup wheat flour, 6 tablespoons cornmeal, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in 4 tablespoons olive oil (or butter) and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Then stir in buttermilk until a dough forms. Mix with your hands a bit to form a ball of dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape each into a disk, about 1/4 inch thick (if you are using a large baking pan, skip this step).

6  When the vegetables are ready, divide the mixture into 4 oven-proof bowls and place biscuit topping on top of each. You will likely have filling left over, depending on the size of your bowls. If you don’t have bowls, you also can place all of the vegetable mixture into a large baking pan, and place small scoops of the dough on top.

7  Bake about 30 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool for several minutes, then serve.