veggies and pot pies
I work nights. I’m working while the rest of the normal world is having fun, going out, or just sleeping. These late hours aren’t very conducive to gourmet foods or even take-out, so sometimes I’m guilty of bringing something frozen to work (gasp! The horror!). Yes, even the foodie will partake in frozen, microwaved dinner.
Thursday night I brought a pot pie to work. I didn’t completely sell out, it was an Amy’s Kitchen country veggie pot pie. They’re pretty good, organic, and they keep me from the fast food evils of working nights. While I was eating this, I realized I could easily make my own, better version. Friday night, I concocted my own organic veggie pot pie. It only took a few things: fresh, local veggies from the CSA, some leftover homemade quick puff pastry, and a bechamel sauce. The eater ranked it as ‘yumyumyum’.
Jef’s Kitchen SD County Vegetable Pie
This is my take on Amy’s Kitchen Country Veggie Pie. I used up some puff pastry that I made a few weeks earlier. You can use the store-bought stuff, the frozen vol-au-vents, or even REAL pie dough if you’re up for it. There isn’t much to the recipe, I used up what I had and what was fresh, I suggest you do the same. For all of you that prefer a proper recipe, here’s the lowdown:
1 sweet potato diced
1 russet potato diced
6 baby carrots sliced
4 turnips diced (I used the greens, too!)
1 cup broccoli florets
3 small leeks diced
1tbls butter
1tbls flour
2 cups milk (maybe more, maybe less depending on how thick you want the sauce)
I blanched all the root veggies together. Usually this is a bad idea, but it worked for me. You may want to blanch them separately if you’re a bit on the squeamish side. I aimed for a little underdone since they’re going into the béchamel.
I sautéed the leeks until tender, added the broccoli, and then at the very end I threw in the turnip greens. Again, not really conventional here, but I’m a pastry chef after all.
After that, I whipped up the béchamel and dumped in all the veggies.
While all this was cooking, I had the puff pastry cooking in the oven.
Assemble and enjoy!
