Food for Thought: Pot Pie

When I think back to my childhood, the food we ate could be summed up with little fanfare:  it was inexpensive, quick, not very risky, and stuck to our ribs.  We were skinny little things and my mother held down jobs that kept her working long hours to keep a roof over our heads and food in our cupboards.  There was no complaining about any of it, or else.

So when I was less than thrilled that a Banquet or Swanson pot pie had been pulled from the freezer, baked in anything but a “pot” and put on my plate, I kept it to myself.  I chose instead to exercise my only two options:  Would I like chicken or beef and would I like it left in its tin or dumped over on my plate.  The flavor didn’t matter as much as being able to eat it out of the tin, unlike my brother who loved it dumped on his plate.  And my sister?  She got away with everything, so she probably got to have a slice of bread with peanut butter or a cold piece of baloney instead of a pot pie.

My story isn’t quite as elegant as Proust and madeleines, but clearly, the idea of a pot pie conjures memories for me.  So when The Skinny Gourmet decided that we might come together to share our Food for Thought, I didn’t have to think very long.  There’s certainly nothing glamorous about a pot pie, but I seem to remember that the idea of one was very comforting and I was always disappointed that it wasn’t at least palatable.

I know.  Ungrateful brat.  How disrespectful of me to complain about watery sauce, a few pieces of meat, carrots, and a token floating pea.  There had to be a better way.

So thank you, Erin, because after all these years, I finally took it upon myself to see if a pot pie could actually be something that was satisfying.

My inspiration for this recipe comes from a cute little cookbook I found in a grocery store right before the holidays called Goodness Gracious:  Recipes for Good Food and Gracious Living by Roxie Kelly and Friends.  It’s a homey sort of book with quaint illustrations and straightforward recipes.  Here’s my rendition of her Chicken Pot Pie.  I decided to use a skillet instead of a pot because I happen to own the very same black cast iron skillet my mother cooked most of our meals with.  How perfect is that?  I made mine with beef instead of chicken.

I had left over steak in the fridge and why not use it for this?

Skillet Pot Pie

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 c. beef broth
.5 oz. dried porcini mushrooms (plus 1 c. liquid used to hydrate them)
1 T olive oil
11 oz. beef*
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1″ pieces
1 lg. russet potato, peeled and cubed (approx. 1 lb.)
1 c. celery sliced into 1/2″ pieces
3/4 c. fresh green beans, sliced into 1″ pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lg. pinch dried thyme
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 c. whole milk
1/3 c. all purpose flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
salt & pepper to taste

Prep

After the puff pastry sheet is thawed, carefully open it taking care not to tear it, placing it on a piece of plastic wrap. Roll it to even it out and smooth away the fold marks.  Make sure it will fit completely across your skillet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Boil a cup of water and pour over the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl.  They’ll need to sit for about 20 minutes.  To prepare them for cooking, line a collander with a strong paper towel or a coffee filter.  Place it over a bowl large enough to collect the liquid.  Pour the mushrooms through the sieve to trap any sediments on the mushrooms. Save the liquid.  Turn the mushrooms into the collander and throw away the paper towel or filter.  Rinse the mushrooms and then coarsely chop.

Have all ingredients chopped and ready to go, as this comes together fairly quickly!

Directions

1. In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, onions, parsley, thyme, and porcinis, stirring together to soften and lightly brown before adding the chopped beef.  Cook the meat to brown well if using raw meat or to combine flavors and heat through if using precooked meat.  Turn off the heat and let sit. If any fat has accumulated in the pan, drain well.

2. In a medium sized pan, heat the beef broth, the reserved porcini water, and add the chopped vegetables.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, slowly add the milk to the flour, mixing well to eliminate clumps.  Pour the mixture into the cooking vegetables, stirring as you add it.  Bring the mixture back to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until it is thickened, about 1 minute.  Season with salt and pepper and taste to adjust seasonings to your liking.

4. Pour the vegetable mixture into the skillet to combine with the meat mixture and stir well. Remove from heat and place on a baking sheet.

5. Place the piece of puff pastry over the skillet making sure it covers the entire skillet.  The corners will drape over the edge. Using a fork, press down on the puff pastry where it sits on the rim of the skillet.  Be careful not to press too hard or it will tear.  Slice a few slits through the top, brush the entire piece of pastry with a lightly beaten egg, and place in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until pastry has puffed and is golden brown in color.

6. To serve, using a sharp knife, cut down through the pastry, and using a wide, flat spatula, scoop under the pastry and lift into a shallow bowl.  Scoop out more of the sauce as needed and enjoy!
   

Recipe Notes:

• The steak I used for this was bone-in rib eye.  It was prepared on a grill the day before and left over.
• Ground beef would also work.  If you plan on using beef that needs to braise, this recipe won’t allow it enough time to cook.  If you have a pot roast that is left over, that would be perfect!  Of course, chicken would be excellent, too.
• And if you prefer not to eat meat, add some zucchini, some parsnips, or whatever vegetable you enjoy.  Broccoli may even be good, as the cooking time is quite short.
• Would I make this again?  We found the sauce lacking in flavor.  What that translates to is adding more salt, which isn’t necessarily good.  My additions to the recipe were designed to bump up the flavor (the mushrooms, garlic, and onions — none of which were in the original recipe), but the flavor was still too tame.  I did sprinkle on some sal de fleur which is really delicious, but again, more salt.  So I’m going to be thinking about this one.  I also had a piece for lunch the next day, and found the flavor to be better.  Not surprising since they’ve had some time to mingle.
• But my faith in the promise of actual taste from a pot pie has been rekindled and I’ll be on the lookout for the perfect recipe.