Spring Vegetable Pot Pie

Give me pie over cake any day! And a cozy, creamy, pot pie chocked full of spring veggies on a chilly, rainy spring day, is just about the most homey thing you can eat! My favorite way to enjoy pot pie is actually not in pie form, but with a biscuit topping! While I love a traditional pot pie, the biscuits are really special and it makes the sloppy serving purposeful instead of a mistake! 😉

Easy to customize based on what you have on hand and your dietary needs and preferences, this meal really comes together quite quickly! Serve up with a simple green salad and you’re ready to go! My whole family devoured this, and that’s a rare feat.

Spring Vegetable Pot Pie

Ingredients:
•2 T olive oil
•2 T butter
•3 carrots, peeled, quartered and diced in ¼ inch chunks
•2 Leeks, most of the dark green part removed, sliced in half lengthwise, and then thinly sliced and washed (washing after cutting is sometimes necessary with leeks because of how the dirt snuggles down into the deep crevices)
•3 Red, Yellow, or Yukon Gold potatoes scrubbed and diced
•4 cloves of garlic, minced
•½ tsp salt
•2 tsp minced fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried
•½ c all purpose flour or whole white wheat flour
•½ c dry sherry (please don’t use cooking sherry here—it has so much added salt it will completely change the flavor)
•3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock (better than bullion is my favorite)
•¼ c whole milk, ½ & ½, or heavy cream
•2 bay leaves
•Freshly ground black pepper
•Pinch-1/2 tsp of cayenne (optional and to taste)
•1 lb asparagus, fibrous bases removed, and chopped into approx 1”pieces (the easiest way to remove the chewy base is to hold each end and let it snap naturally approx 1-2” from the base)
•1 c frozen peas
•1 can canellini kidney beans or small white beans, drained and rinsed
•2 T fresh minced italian parsley or 1 T dry
•1 recipe Double-Crust Pie Dough (or store bought pie dough) or Whole Grain Cream Biscuits (or store bought bake yourself biscuits)

Adjust your oven rack to a central position and heat to 425 degrees. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a heavy bottomed pan or Dutch over medium heat. Add the carrots, leeks, potatoes, asparagus, salt and a grind of black pepper and saute until softened, approx 5-7 minutes.

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Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, just a few seconds. Stir in the flour until it coats everything and then white rapidly stirring, pour in the sherry, scraping the bottom and sides as you do. Stir in the broth, milk and bay leaves and simmer until thickened, approx. 10 minutes.

Taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper and cayenne if using. Discard the bay leaves and stir in the frozen peas, parsley, and beans. You can make a traditional pot pie with a bottom and top crust in an 8” pie plate or cast iron pan, or you can pour the filling into a 9X13 casserole dish or 8” cast iron pan and top with a thick pie crust rolled to approx 15×11” and then crimped to fit, or 8- 3” round cream biscuits. Make sure the filling is hot when the biscuits are placed on top or they will not cook properly.

Bake until the crust or biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbling and luscious looking, approximately 15-20 minutes. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving it up!

This recipe is super customizable. Add cooked, cubed chicken if you want, celery, onion, green beans, fennel, mushrooms, corn, broccoli, summer squash, zucchini, butternut squash, tomatoes, chard, kale, the options are endless. Just make sure that whatever you’re adding at each step takes approx. the same amount of cooking time. Use what you have on hand and adjust seasoning accordingly! I would LOVE to hear the combos you come up with! Happy Pot Pie-ing!

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