Homemade Vegan Pot Pies

After discussing the nasty frozen food we grew up on and loved at the time, my boyfriend Ian and I decided to take a stab at making pot pie. Neither of us had ever had a non-frozen version of this potentially wonderful comfort food. It was time to experiment, and the results were way better than either of us had hope for (and we tend to have high expectations for our culinary ventures). What I mean to say is that these are AWESOME!!!!!

Note: I only got 2 pies out of this recipe because my ramekins were HUGE! Your can easily get 4-8 depending on the size you are using.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup shortening, chilled
• 2 tbs butter or margarine, chilled 
• 5-6 tbs cold water

For the filling:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz. (1 pkg) white button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 russet potato, peeled and cubed 
• 2 vegan sausages, chopped 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup almond milk (or any milk substitute)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

First prepare the dough.

1. Sift together the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Cut in the shortening and margarine in small chunks with a pastry cutter or two knives until it resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in the water one tablespoon at a time with a fork until the dough comes together. You do not want it to be too wet, so be cautious with the water. 
4. Gather the dough in a ball and roll it out on a lightly floured surface, about 1/4" thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. 

Second, prepare the filling.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Preheat a large pot over medium heat.
2. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent, about 5 min.
3. Add in the mushrooms, celery, carrot, potato and sausage and saute for about 7 minutes. 
4. Add in the flour and stir for 1 minute to slightly toast
5. Add the veggie broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cover to cook the veggies, 15-20 minutes or until the broth thickens.
6. Meanwhile mix together the vegan milk and apple cider vinegar, set aside.
7. Once the veggies are cooked and the broth is thickened, add in the milk mixture, frozen peas and salt and pepper to taste. Keep on low while you prepare the ramekins.

Lastly, make the pot pies!

1. Line 2-6 ramekins (depending on the size of your ramekins. a large muffin tin works well too.) with dough. Make sure to leave enough to top the pies!
2. Fill with pot pie mix and cover with  more dough. Make sure to cut slits in the tops of the pies to allow steam to escape.
3. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
4. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy.

Cheers!