I love me some pot pie. It’s such great comfort food, and so easy to make en masse and devour with ketchup. Unfortunately, it’s made almost entirely of ground beef and mashed potatoes, which isn’t really that appealing to me anymore. Oh well. I can fix that.
This vegetarian pot pie is made with all sorts of tasty things. Nuts, lentils, quinoa, and sweet potatoes. Yum. Tie it together with a bit of vegetarian gravy, some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and a few eggs, and you’re off to the races. Yumyumyum.
My favourite thing about this pot pie is the variety of protein sources in it. Lentils, quinoa, nuts, TVP, and eggs. Complete proteins are supposed to be good for vegetarians, right?
Vegetarian Pot Pie
2 giant sweet potatoes
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup French lentils, rinsed
½ cup red or white quinoa, rinsed
1 cup mixed raw nuts, chopped
1/3 cup TVP, rehydrated
Salt & pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp died basil
1 tsp ground coriander
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup mixed peas & carrots
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 cups vegetable broth
Cut the sweet potatoes into chunks. Stick ’em in a pot, add the butter, add a splash of water, and put a lid on that pot. Place over low heat (3/10) and let simmer/braise until tender, about 30–40 minutes.
Simmer the lentils in water until tender, about 20 minutes. Partially cook the quinoa; steam for about 10 minutes. Mix the lentils, quinoa, nuts, and TVP. Beat in the eggs, add the herbs & spices, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the peas and carrots.
Once the sweet potatoes are tender, beat them with electric mixers, and then beat in the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Mix the cornstarch with a small amount of cold water, and then mix in the broth.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the broth/cornstarch mixture with the lentil mixture, and place them in the bottom of a deep casserole dish. Top with the whipped sweet potatoes. Bake until bubbling and browned on top, about 1 hour.
