Vegetarian Pot Pie in a Kabocha Squash Bowl

Call it pandering if you wish, but I decided to make a mash-up out of the two most popular posts on The Chubby Vegetarian: Unreal Chicken Pot Pie and Kabocha Squash Redemption Stew. No matter the reason, the result is fantastic. This is a delicious way to eat your veggies. The filling is perfumed with parsley, lemon zest, and thyme, and the crust is rich and crispy. The whole thing rests inside of an edible bowl made from sweet roasted squash. This is the a great wintertime recipe to try this weekend.

Olive Oil Crust:

1 1/2 cup AP flour

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup ice water

Add the flour and salt to the food processor and start it. Slowly drizzle the oil into the feeder tube. Add the water a little at a time until you see the dough come together into a ball. You will not need all of the water. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.

Pot Pie Filling:

2 cup cremini mushrooms

1 white onion

1 Not Chick'n bouillon cube

1 cup white wine

2 celery ribs

1 parsnip

2 carrots

1 medium potato (peeled)

1 bell pepper

1/2 cup peas

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

1/2 cup chopped parsley

3 sprigs thyme

lemon zest

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

Cut all of the vegetables (except the peas, silly) into a neat, medium dice. Sauté mushrooms in a few tablespoons of olive oil over high heat for just a few minutes until they get some color on them. Set mushrooms aside.

In a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil until translucent. Add the bouillon cube and the white wine; continue to cook until most of the wine has evaporated. This should take about 5-8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and other vegetables to the mix and stir well. Push the mixture off to one side of the pot so that you have some surface area on the bottom of the pot. Add the butter and flour and whisk them together. Once the butter and flour mixture begins to turn golden, stir it all together, and then add the milk, parsley, thyme, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. The vegetables will be warm but not cooked through. This is good because they will cook more in the oven. Set mixture aside.

Vegetarian Vegetable Pot Pie in a Kabocha Squash Bowl:

1 large kabocha squash (or several smaller ones)

1 olive oil crust

pot pie filling

olive oil

1 egg

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut the top 1/3 off of your squash with a sharp knife. Be careful not to cut yourself! Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Allow squash to cook for 25-30 minutes. With a slotted spoon, heap filling into the squash cavity. Roll crust out to about 1/8 inch. Top squash with crust and cut it into a round slightly larger than the squash using kitchen shears. Crimp the edges and place into the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with salt, and return to oven for another 20 minutes or until top is golden brown. Strain the vegetables out of any left over filling and reserve the gravy at the bottom of the pot.

To serve, pour a little gravy into the center of a serving plate, slice squash into quarters, and place one quarter of the squash on a plate.