Vegetable Pot Pie with Dill-Havarti Sauce

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With the weather cooling down considerably over the past few weeks, I’ve turned my attention to comforting, warm, home-cooked meals. Two weeks ago, I hosted a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner and opted to make this pot pie my main dish. It’s loaded with delicious autumn vegetables such as butternut squash, carrots and Yukon Gold potatoes slowly simmered in a broth with fresh thyme and dill. The parboiled vegetables are then mixed into a rich dill havarti sauce and baked topped with a flaky crust with flecks of fresh rosemary. A delicious vegetarian version of a comforting pot pie. :)

Filling Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of yellow onion; chopped
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • pinch of pepper
  • 2 cups of potatoes; peeled and cubed
  • 2 cups of butternut squash; peeled and cubed
  • 1 cup of celery; chopped
  • 2 cups of carrots; peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup of green beans; chopped
  • 1 cup of vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon of fresh dill; chopped (or 2 teaspoons of dried dill)
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme

Sauce Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup of unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup of unbleached white flour
  • 2 cups of vegetable stock
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of dill havarti cheese; shredded
  • salt and pepper to taste

Crust Ingredients
  • 1 and 3/4 cups of unbleached white flour
  • 1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary; chopped
  • 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup of ice water

Method

1. In a large pot, warm the oil. Add the onions and sauté on medium heat for 10 minutes; or until the onions are soft and golden. 

2. Add the vegetable stock then the potatoes, celery, carrots, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook vegetables for 5 minutes. Add thyme and dill then add the green beans and squash. Cook another 5 to 10 minutes; or until the vegetables are just tender. Drain vegetables and set aside. Remove the bay leaves. 

3. Preheat oven to 375’F.

4. Make the Sauce: in a sauce pan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat ensuring you whisk mixture constantly to avoid burning the flour.  Whisk in the stock. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens up. Whisk in the havarti dill cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Combine the vegetables and sauce. Pour into a square casserole dish or deep dish pie plate. 

6. Make the crust: mix together the flour and rosemary in a large bowl. Put the mixture into a food processor with unsalted butter cut into cubes. Pulse the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with ice water a tablespoon at a time. Lightly mix and form a ball of dough in the middle of the bowl. Note: I found that a little more than 1/4 cup of ice water was necessary in order to get the dough to form a ball.

7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a piece large enough to cover your baking dish. Cover the entire top of the pie dish. Trim the edges and make small slots around the top of the crust, so that heat can vent out properly.

8. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. This will allow the sauce to firm up a considerable amount.

Source: Moosewood Celebrations Cookbook

Maple Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Vanilla Butter & Pecans

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I have hated brussel sprouts as long as I can remember. My mom used to make them every so often HOPING my sister and I would start to like them. Over the years, I have grown to love pretty much every vegetable possible….except for….brussel sprouts. For some reason, when I stumbled upon Bobby Flay’s recipe for brussel sprouts roasted with pomegranate molasses, I was intrigued! I decided that I needed to make them for Thanksgiving dinner recently. Sadly, I could not find any pomegranate molasses, so I opted to use pure maple syrup instead. Turns out brussel sprouts are pretty delicious when smothered in maple syrup and topped with homemade vanilla butter. Who knew!? :) This little side dish became a family favourite immediately and is already on the menu for Christmas dinner. Since my entire family adored this recipe, I thought I would share it with you. (I apologize for the poor quality photo mind you!) Even if you have disliked brussel sprouts most of your life, I highly recommend giving these a try next time you need a tasty, unique side dish.

Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter; slightly softened
  • 1 vanilla bean; seeds scraped out
  • 1/4 cup of toasted pecans; chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound of brussel sprouts; washed, trimmed and cut in half
  • 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon of freshly grated orange zest

Method

1. Combine the butter and vanilla bean seeds in a small bowl. Fold in the pecans and seasons with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

2. Preheat oven to 375’F.

3. Place the brussel sprouts in a medium roasting pan and toss with the canola oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the brussel sprouts in the oven until lightly golden brown (about 20 minutes). Make sure to toss the brussel sprouts every so often to allow even cooking.

4. Remove the pan from the oven and add the maple syrup. Stir well to coat all brussel sprouts evenly. Return to the oven and cook the sprouts until tender (about 5-10 minutes). Note: watch the sprouts closely at this point to ensure they don’t burn.

5. Transfer the sprouts to a large bowl. Add a dollop or two of the vanilla butter. Mix well and allow the butter to melt all over the sprouts. Top with some fresh orange zest and some additional pecan pieces.

Source: adapted from Bobby Flay’s recipe for Brussel Sprouts with Pomegranate Molasses and Pecans

Chocolate Pear Tart with Amaretto Whipped Cream

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My apologies that I’ve not posted anything for the past ten days. I just got back from a fantastic nine day adventure in New York City! I had hoped to post about my first time in The Big Apple throughout my trip, but the internet connection at the hotel was way-too-slow. My boyfriend and I stayed at a gorgeous little boutique hotel in central Manhattan. The hotel, as nice as it was, was built in the early 1900’s and did not have the most updated internet connection. *hah*

 Soooo….looks like I have some catching up to do post-wise! I have some NYC restaurant reviews planned, stories to tell about my fabulous trip, some new fall-related recipes to share and some new upcoming Fig Tree features to discuss. Oh! And I will also post all the Thanksgiving recipes I featured in my Thanksgiving post on October 10, 2011, starting with this delicious dark chocolate pear tart with amaretto whipped cream. Mmmmm! Frankly, the winning component of this dish is the amaretto whipped cream. I may start putting it on EVERYTHING. Mashed potatoes? Add some amaretto whipped cream! *hah* Just kidding. The amaretto whipped cream really does enhance this dessert though, so I recommend it whole-heartedly :) This dessert is a real winner if you are looking for a quick gluten-free treat to make for yourself or a gluten-free friend.

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup of unsalted butter; room temperature
  • 1 cup (5 ounces) of blanched whole almonds
  • 3/4 cup of white sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 3 large ripe, firm Bartlett pears
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of 35% whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon of amaretto liqueur
  • 1 tablespoon of icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350’F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.

2. Make the crust: in a food processor, pulse the almonds and sugar until nuts are very finely ground. Add butter, eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt. Process until combined. Spread the mixture evenly into the tart pan.

3. Make the topping: peel, halve and core the pears. Cut the pears lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slivers/slices. Note: You can rub the slices with fresh lemon juice to prevent them from browning or discolouring. Arrange the slices on the chocolate mixture by slightly overlapping them. Be sure not to press them into the batter.

4. Place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the top if puffed and a tested inserted in the centre comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached (45 to 50 minutes). Transfer the pan to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

5. Make the amaretto whipped cream: in an electric mixer bowl, combine the sugar and whipping cream on high until soft peaks start to form. While the machine is still running, add the amaretto liqueur. Whip until soft peaks have fully formed.

6. Slice the tart and serve with a dollop of the amaretto whipping cream. Enjoy!

Source for Chocolate Tart: Martha Stewart; Source for Amaretto Whipped Cream: Courtney Jones