While this meal is in a genre of foods generally more suitable for serving during the middle of winter, the large number of vegetables make it appropriate for spring. The result is a lighter meal, since there’s no cream that is typical for a pot pie, and a light and flaky feta scallion biscuit on top replaces a traditional pie crust. You will absolutely not miss chicken in this meal- we both agreed that we enjoyed this more than a traditional chicken pot pie. It’s still been chilly where we live recently, but warm weather is certainly on its way- the longer days and return of chirping birds are both sure signs. We couldn’t be looking forward to it more!

P.S. We just got a job at a local bakery and we are so excited about it! While we won’t be doing the actual baking (just ringing up people’s orders, etc.), it should be fun working in that sort of environment and I have no doubt we’ll learn a lot.

Vegetarian Pot Pies with Feta Scallion Biscuits

Recipe from Annie’s Eats

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

For the filling:

3 tablespoons butter (it doesn’t really matter if it’s salted or unsalted)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
12 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
¾ cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups veggie broth (we recommend Imagine brand)
Salt and pepper, to taste (salt will vary based on the broth you used/ whether or not you used salted butter)

For the biscuits:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup plus 1-2 tablespoons buttermilk

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400. Grease 4 or 5 ramekins or a 2-quart casserole dish.

For the filling, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add onion, pepper, and carrots and saute, stirring every now and then, until vegetables are starting to soften. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until they are softened and have released most of their liquid. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute.

Stir in flour and cook for a minute. Pouring slowly, stir in the vegetable broth. Cook, stirring every now and then, until the filling has thickened and is bubbling. Stir in peas and season with salt and pepper.  Divide the filling mixture between the prepared serving dish(es).

For the biscuit topping, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Stir in the pieces of butter and toss around in the dry ingredients.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is coarse (the butter chunks shouldn’t be bigger than the size of a pea).  Stir in the feta and scallions and toss briefly to combine.

Pour in ½ cup of the buttermilk and stir gently with a fork until a dough has formed. Add more buttermilk as needed. Don’t overmix! Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently press until it is 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut 3-inch biscuits out of the dough and place them on top of the vegetable filling in the serving dish(es). Brush top of biscuits with extra buttermilk and a bit of freshly ground black pepper.

Transfer the baking dish(es) to a rimmed baking sheet, and place near the top of the oven.  Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the biscuits are light golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 20 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes until serving. Enjoy!