Vegetable Pot Pie

One of my all-time favorite comfort foods is pot pie.  I mean, how can you go wrong with root vegetables covered in a cream and butter sauced baked in a flaky golden brown pie crust?  But since going vegetarian I haven't been able to find a decent vegetarian pot pie anywhere, and don't get me started on the sodium content of the pot pies in the freezer section.  Since I can't in good conscience give you a recipe loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol,  I've created a simple to make, lighter version perfect for Sunday dinner on a wintry day.  Only 350 calories per serving.  Enjoy!

Vegetable Pot Pie,  Serves 8
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
3 parsnips
1/2 medium-sized rutabaga
1 potato
1 cup frozen peas
1 small onion
2 T.  unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2/3 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 T. dried parsley
1 package puff pastry sheets, thawed 30  minutes

Prepare a deep baking dish with non-stick spray.  Line bottom of dish with one sheet of pastry.  Cut remaining sheet to fit top.  Use scraps to patch any gaps in the bottom layer.  Chop carrots, celery, parsnips, rutabaga, and potato to roughly 1/2-inch dice.  Steam in microwave for 10-15 minutes, or until tender to bite.  Drain after cooking. For more information about steaming vegetables, see this previous post.

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a 12 inch saute pan.  Add onions and cook until translucent.  Stir in flour , celery seed, salt and pepper until well combined.  Add milk and broth, bring to a simmer stirring frequently until sauce is thick.  Add parsley and vegetables.  Pour vegetable mix into prepared baking dish.  Cover top with a second sheet of pastry and press edges together to seal.  Cut slits in top to vent.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

For even greater calorie savings, try this recipe using fyllo dough instead of puff pastry dough, or skip the bottom crust altogether.

Seal edges of puff pastry tight to prevent boiling over.  Cut vents in top.

It's hard to image that this gets any better, but it's absolutely delicious reheated the next day!