Don’t take this recipe too seriously - add more or less of the ingredients based on what you have and like. There are lots of little separate cooking bits to this recipe. It’s gonna come out good - you’re cooking it from scratch. You can make this with either tofu or chicken; I used cooked chicken I had from a leftover rotisserie. I also used a cup of gravy we had in the fridge in lieu of one of the cups of chicken stock so throw gravy in if you happen to have it or just use all stock. This took about an hour to make (not including cooking time). Sorry for posting the before picture - I was too busy with eating to remember to take an after picture. This recipe makes two medium dishes worth- guesstimating on pan size- 8x11? I figure if I’m going through the effort I might as well make a lot because it will either get eaten or we can freeze it. For the crust you can use your favorite frozen crust (thawed first). Just lay on top of filling in pan and slice a few slits in it to allow steam to escape (or entertain your inner child and use food dye and a knife to mold some leaves).
Ingredients
Tofu (if using) - two packages, drain and slice about a ½ inch thick, then gently squeeze excess moisture with a clean dish/paper towels. Cut into cubes and saute in a pan with 1 tsp of olive oil for about 15 minutes until golden on most/all sides. Season with some salt and pepper. OR 4 cups cooked, diced chicken
Potatoes, diced 3 cups
Carrots, diced 2 cups
Button mushrooms, 8 cups uncooked sliced
Onions, 2 cups diced
Leek, one with most of stalk cut off, halved and thinly sliced
Garlic, minced 2 tbsp
Peas, 2 cups defrosted if frozen
Corn, 1 ½ cups defrosted if frozen
Chicken or vegetable stock, 4 cups
Tomato paste, 1 Tbsp
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
few dashes of smoked paprika and cayenne
What To Do
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile saute mushrooms for 12 minutes then add as much garlic as you’re comfortable with (I added 2 Tbsp), some salt, and a few dashes on smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. Once most of the moisture has cooked off, dump them into a large bowl and clean out pan with a paper towel (caution while it’s hot).
When water in other pot is boiling, add carrots and cook for 3 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon into a colander to drain. Return water in the same pot to a boil and add the potatoes and boil for about 10 minutes.
While the potatoes are boiling, heat 1 tbsp oil and add onions and leak and cook for 10 minutes, add some salt and pepper, stirring occasionally. Add to the big bowl with mushrooms, corn, and peas.
Melt ½ stick unsalted butter in heavy saucepan and gradually whisk in ¾ cup all purpose flour. If it gets too thick, thin it with some chicken (or vegetable) stock. Continue to whisk and add in the tomato paste. Add thyme and rosemary. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour into big bowl with the other vegetables and mix well with some more salt and pepper to taste.
Pour filling into pan and top with pie crust and cut a few slits into it (or decorate as you are so inspired to from Pinterest). Bake for 45 minutes at 400*.