Winter Vegetable Pot Pie

Ingredients

• ●*Filling:**
• ●3 tablespoons butter
• ●1 large leek, white and light green parts, sliced and rinsed
• ●2 carrots, peeled and diced
• ●2 stalks celery, diced
• ●8 ounces mushrooms (cremini or button), quartered
• ●2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (½ inch)
• ●1 cup butternut squash, peeled and diced (½ inch)
• ●3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ●2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• ●½ cup whole milk or cream
• ●1 cup frozen peas
• ●2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• ●1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• ●Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ●*Crust:**
• ●1 sheet puff pastry (about 10 ounces), thawed
• ●1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Melt the butter in a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leek and cook for 3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, and squash. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes until slightly softened.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
4. Slowly pour in the stock, stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken. Add the milk and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes until the potatoes and squash are just tender.
5. Stir in the peas, thyme, and parsley. Season generously with salt and pepper. The filling should be thick and creamy — if it's too thick, add a splash more stock.
6. Transfer the filling to a 2-quart baking dish (or leave in the oven-safe skillet if it fits). Let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Unroll the puff pastry and place it over the filling, tucking the edges down inside the dish or crimping them against the rim. Cut 3 to 4 small slits in the top for steam to escape.
8. Brush the pastry with egg wash.
9. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deeply golden and you can see the filling bubbling around the edges.
10. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving — the filling is volcanic straight from the oven.
11. *Storage:** Refrigerate assembled but unbaked for up to 1 day. Baked pot pie keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat in a 177°C (350°F) oven for 20 minutes.
12. *Seasonal note:** This is one of the most versatile recipes in the book. Use whatever winter vegetables you have — parsnips, turnips, celery root, sweet potato. Add cooked chicken or turkey if you want protein. The puff pastry is the easy route; if you want to make your own pie crust, use the galette dough from the fall book, doubled.