Vegetable Pot Pie

One thing I love about the colder weather is heating the house up with the smell of a delicious casserole. I love pot pie and have tried a few recipes over the years. However, I realized that I've never tried a vegetable only pot pie. Since I already had everything on hand, I decided to give this recipe a try.

Every week I sit down and go through my recipes and my Pinterest board to come up with all the dinners I plan to make for that week. That way I know what I need to get from the grocery story. This was a recipe that I didn't have to buy anything for because I already had everything on hand. I even had some white wine already opened. Well, technically it's a boxed wine... so I always have some white wine "opened". By the way, if you like white wine, I recommend the Black Box Chardonnay. That's what I used for this dish and it's probably my favorite boxed white wine. It's got a light, crisp, and subtle fruity flavor that you'd expect from a white wine but then it ends on a creamy note. So, yeah, that's my wine of choice for this dish but any white wine like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc would work.

recipe adapted from Life Currents

• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
• ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ cup white wine
• 3/4 cup frozen peas thawed
• 1 sheet puff pastry thawed and unfolded

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Pierce the potatoes several times with a fork or knife, and microwave until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes and the power of the microwave. Allow potatoes to cool slightly so that you can handle them, and chop into ½-inch to 1-inch dice. Transfer cubed potatoes to a large bowl, and set aside.
3. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add 1 tablespoon oil. Once the oil is hot, sauté the onions until starting to brown and caramelize, about 15-20 minutes. Add the carrots to the onions, and continue to cook, and until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer cooked vegetables to the large bowl with the potatoes, and set aside.
4. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the butter and 2 tablespoons oil to the same pot. When the butter has melted, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Slowly and gradually stir the milk, broth, thyme, salt, and pepper into the flour mixture. Continue to stir constantly as the sauce thickens. Stir in the white wine, and cook for an additional minute.
5. Turn the heat off, and stir the cooked vegetables and the peas into the sauce, until well combined. Taste for salt and pepper.
6. Pour the filling into a 13x9-inch baking dish, and bake in 400° F oven for 18 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven (keeping the oven on and close the door behind you), and place the puff pastry over the top of the filling, gently folding some of the pasty over the sides of the pan. Using a sharp knife, cut 3 slits in the top of the puff pasty to allow steam to escape. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.