Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Guiness Pie


Sometimes I want something and it doesn't make sense. This week has been hot, humid and generally nasty and yet I craved a heavy, hearty meal. So for dinner we had Guiness Pie, a drunken sort of pot pie. This may not be a odd as it seems. A dear friend of mine maintains that the best pot pies are made in the summer because that is when you can get the youngest, freshest vegetables to include. Perhaps she was right because this was delicious! We served it with a side of summer vegetables in a tarragon butter. Heavy food or not, it was heavenly!



Guiness Pie
Ingredients:
1 recipe basic pie crust (see below)
non-hydrogenated vegan margarine and vegetable oil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 cloves garlic
3 large mushrooms (button or baby portobello)
pinch red pepper flakes
can Guinness
2 bay leaves
1 TBS coarse ground prepared mustard (Dijon works too)
2 Vegan beef flavored bouillon cubes
1 cup dry TVP
1 cup water
1 can stewed tomatoes
2TBS corn starch and a small amount of water

Method:

1. Chop all vegetables and saute in a mixture of margarine and oil, until barely soft. Season with red pepper flakes.
2. Pour the can of Guinness over vegetables. Add bay leaves, mustard and bouillon.
3. Once beer is boiling and bouillon dissolved, allow to boil for another 2 minutes and then add the TVP. Turn heat to low and pour in additional cup water. Continue cooking until TVP is reconstituted.
4. Pour tomatoes into pot and break up the tomatoes with the spoon. Bring to an boil again. Mixture should be watery.
5. In a small jar or cup mix cornstarch with a small amount of water and stir well, until there are no lumps. Add to pot, stiring continually until mixture begins to thicken. Turn off heat.
6. Put filling into a casserole dish and top with rolled out pastry crust. Bake a 400 for 35-45 minutes until crust is done.

Basic Pie Crust:

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
pinch salt
2/3 cups solid fat (vegetable shortening, margarine, coconut oil)

small cup ice water

Method:
1. Combine flour and salt (you can add additional dry seasonings here if you wish)
2. Cut in fat with a pastry cutter, two knives or your hands.
3. Stir in ice water one spoonful at a time until dough forms.
4. Refrigerate for later or roll out on a floured board for immediate use.




Summer Vegetables in Tarragon Butter
(not really a recipe... just a simple way to jazz up the few veggies I had left in the bin!!)
Ingredients:

1/2 lb snow peas, chopped
1/2 lb carrots, chopped
fresh corn from 4 ears
non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
white wine
generous hand-full tarragon
1 TBS whole grain mustard
Salt and Pepper

Method:

Blanch all vegetables and rinse in cold water.
Melt margarine in heavy bottomed pan, stir in tarragon and mustard.
Reheat vegetables in margarine and toss thoroughly.
Add a splash white wine, toss through and saute briskly to cook off wine.
Season with Salt and pepper.

Note: I didn't give measurements of the fats and wine because I just eyeballed them. I typically use the wine so I can reduce the amount of fat necessary without compromising on flavor.

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