Three Lovely Days

There are few things better than three day weekends and this one was especially good for my 30-Days of Dinner challenge (as I've just decided to call it). Throughout the next few weeks I am going to try to go outside my typical recipe box- it's really easy for me to end up in a cooking rut. And while sometimes it's convenient to fall back on my standard vegetables + tofu = dinner, it's always nice to try something new.

Friday was incredibly cold (I'm so over winter!) so we planned on staying in and playing some cards with friends. I knew I wanted to make comfort food- something warm and soothing to the soul. I didn't want soup or stew but something similar so I created a new-to-me recipe of a vegetarian take on chicken pot pie.

Chickpea Pot Pie!

Now to be honest, I don't even know if I've ever had chicken pot pie (and if I did it was a lifetime ago) but I love the concept of it- a nice hearty stew with a delightfully bready crust. I'm not that in to flaky crusts so I used a cornmeal biscuit as my inspiration for the topping. I'm starting to think that this is nothing like what chicken pot pie actually is, but I'm okay with that.

Note: I'm not great with measurements, especially when it comes to seasoning (as I'm a big fan of adding a bit at a time and then tasting) but I promise that going forward I'll try to be a bit more exact. 

Ingredients:

For the filling
Olive oil
1 large sweet potato, chopped
1 large russet potato, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
~1 C. cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch of kale, chopped
1 orange bell pepper pepper, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
3 C. vegetable broth
1/4 C. AP flour
Rubbed sage
Salt
Pepper

For the crust:
3/4 C. bread flour 
3/4 C. cornmeal
1 1/2 T. granulated sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
~3/4 C. vegetable broth
2 T. olive oil
1 yolk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss potatoes, carrots and mushrooms in olive oil, season to taste with sage, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25, until the potatoes are just starting to brown. While those veggies roast, cook down the onion over medium heat. Once the onion is translucent, add in the garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add in the kale. Cook until the kale is completely wilted and the onions are beginning to caramelize (5-10 minutes) then add in the orange pepper and the chickpeas. By this point, the veggies should be done, so remove them from the oven and turn the temperature down to 350. Add the veggies to the pot, pour in the vegetable broth, add the flour and turn the heat up to high. Bring the broth to a boil and allow the stew to thicken up, cooking 3-5 minutes. Turn down to a simmer and cover.

To prepare the crust, sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a mixing cup whisk the egg with the olive oil and add in the vegetable broth to reach the 3/4 cup mark. Pour the liquid slowly into the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon, careful not to over mix.

Pour the filling into a casserole dish and cover with the crust mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is just beginning to brown and the filling is bubbling. I had just a little bit too much for my casserole dish so I baked a little mug on the side- the perfect single serving!

This meal really hit the spot! It was hearty and filling but not overly so, great for these cold winter nights. I suppose it helps that I had good company while eating it:

Sometimes I'm still amazed by just how cute the gray girls can be :-)