Thanksgiving Pot Pie

I’ve been doing Thanksgiving without Turkey for about 5 years now. Each year, I get to experiment with trying to figure out how to bring back my fond memories of Thanksgiving without imbibing the bird.

After a few miserable failures and a couple decent but heavily processed Tofurkey dinners, I was thrilled to try this vegan Thanksgiving Pot Pie inspired by the holiday issue of Vegetarian Times. I invited friends over to enjoy the feast and everyone agreed this hit the spot. Fresh thyme and sage provide the Thanksgiving aromas we’ve grown to love and red wine, hoisin sauce, molasses and vinegar give the gravy a hint of meatiness.

Although you can serve this with any side dishes you like – mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc – it’s quite satisfying on its own and was quite delicious paired with my mom’s sweet potato casserole.

What you need

Filling

• 2 small potatoes, diced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 3-5 Tbsp oil, divided
• 8 oz firm tofu, drained and pressed and cut into cubes
• 4 Tbsp Braggs amino acids, divided
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder, divided
• 1/ tsp cayenne pepper, divided
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms, cremini and/or button
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup almond or soy milk
• 3 Tbsp red wine
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• 1 tsp hoisin sauce
• 1/4 tsp molasses
• 1/4 tsp sherry vinegar

Crust

•  1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
• 3-4 Tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh sage, chopped

How to make it

As with any Thanksgiving it all starts with the turkey – I mean tofu. I can’t tell you how many recipes I’ve destroyed by not pressing the tofu first. Be sure you’ve got tofu in water from the refrigerated section, not the silken tofu in a box. Once you’ve got the right tofu, drain the water and wrap the tofu in cheesecloth or an absorbent towel. Place the wrapped tofu on a cooling rack and place something heavy on it. I used three ceramic dinner plates. The more water you drain from the tofu, the better consistency your tofu will have. Drain and press the tofu for at least 30 minutes, if not an hour or more.

While the tofu is draining, you can chop all your vegetables and prep your ingredients. Once the tofu is ready, cut it into cubes and sautee over medium-high heat in 1 Tbsp oil. Cook for 5-10 minutes – until tofu begins to brown. Stir in 2-3 Tbsp Braggs, 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper. Cook until all liquid evaporates and set aside.

Next boil the pototatoes and carrots in a large pot of salt water. I have a fear of mushy carrots and hard potatoes, so I boiled the potatoes for 5 minutes first, then added the carrots for another 5 minutes. When both are just tender, drain and add to the sauteed tofu.

Next, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium hat. Add mushrooms and cook 3-5 minutes, until soft. Add onion, broccoli and garlic and saute another 6-7 minutes, until onions begin to soften. Push veggies to edge of skillet and add flour. Stir flour while adding remaining oil with fork to make roux (a thick sauce that is going to be the base of your gravy). Stir roux into vegetables then stir broth into vegetables. Once gravy is smooth, add the tofu, potatoes, carrots, nondairy milk, remaining braggs and wine. Stir gently, the add thyme, sage, hoisin sauce, molasses, vinegar and remaining garlic and cayenne. You want to have a nice hearty gravy at this point, but be sure to cook off any excess liquid or it will bubble over in the oven. When filling is ready, transfer to a casserole dish.

Next we’re going to tackle the crust. Preheat the oven to 375. Mix together flour, salt and shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Add water until dough sticks together, without being too moist. Gently knead rosemary and sage into dough and shape into a ball. Place dough ball in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to push out from the center of the ball, shaping your dough to completely cover the casserole dish.

Remove dough from bag and lay over the vegetable filling in your casserole dish. Poke large and plentiful holes in your crust to make sure the gravy doesn’t seep out the sides. If you don’t want to end up cleaning your oven, place a broiling pan in the bottom while cooking. Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tags: holiday meals, low calorie, thanksgiving, vegan