I've been reading about comfort food dishes lately so I've had pot pies on the brain. I love a good pot pie - who doesn't? - but I wanted to try something a little different. It wasn't long before the inspiration hit me. Combine three of my favorite things (namely broccoli, cheezy sauce and pot pie) and end up with one amazing comfort food treat. On a weeknight, even.

The cheezy sauce for this dish was inspired by two recipes. One is the Cheddar Cheesy Sauce in Lindsay Nixon's new cookbook . The other is good old-fashioned Esme sauce. I think my version has the perfect flavor and consistency for the veggies I like to use (broccoli, especially) but feel free to play around.

I would ultimately like to rework the dough in this recipe to yield a heartier, flakier crust but it's still pretty darn good with this standard crust if you ask me.

Broccoli Vegan-Cheezy Pies
Yield: 2 individual pies

Dough:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp salt
3-4 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp plain almond milk

Filling:
1/2 cup plain almond milk
1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 Tbsp red miso
1 tsp raw tahini
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp tumeric
2 cups mixed veggies - broccoli, peas and carrots are favorites - use fresh or thawed frozen

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Combine dough ingredients in a bowl. Divide in two equal parts. Use 2/3 of each part to press around the bottom and sides of two ramekins. Press the remaining 1/3 of each part into rough rounds that will become your pie toppers. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, whisk together almond milk and arrowroot, then add all other ingredients. Whisk together over low heat until the mixture begins to thicken. If you like a thinner sauce, add more liquid or reduce arrowroot powder by half.
4. Add veggies to sauce. Stir to combine and then spoon into ramekins and press down slightly to remove air pockets.
5. Place dough rounds on top and press down slightly. There should be gaps in the dough around the edges.
6. Bake 35-40 minutes until the tops of the dough are cooked thoroughly and the filling is bubbling slightly. 
7. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Note: if your ramekins are filled to the brim, consider placing an empty baking sheet on the rack below your ramekins. This will catch any sauce that bubbles over and make your clean-up a lot easier. I used 8-oz ramekins and had no trouble but an ounce of prevention...


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