Vegetable Pie

Late Summer Vegetable Pie

I had quite a few requests for the recipe for this pie,  It's lighter than a regular quiche and loaded with a variety of vegetables inside a flaky crust.  I made this with some harvest from my garden and didn't measure precisely, but here is the basic recipe that can be modified to fit whatever you have on hand.  I used my food processor to make the pie crust, chop all the vegetables except the potatoes and tomatoes and grate the cheese. I did not clean the bowl in between to save time.  This will take about 2 hours total:  about 45 minutes of hands on time, another 1 hour of sit back and relax baking time plus 15 minutes of cooling time.  Serve a wedge of this with a simple side salad of greens, sliced pear with walnuts or pecans dressed with some balsamic vinaigrette, and you've very tastily gotten 3 servings of vegetables for the day easily.

Vegetable Pie

serves 6 

Pie Crust

This is my favorite and is a very sturdy crust that stands up well to wet fillings

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup olive oil or non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

1 egg, beaten

2-3 Tbsp ice cold water

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Mix the flour and salt.  Cut in the shortening or oil (by hand or using a food processor).  Add egg and vinegar plus enough cold water incorporating all the ingredients.  (if using a food processor, this will only take a few pulses to come together.  Don't over mix or your crust will be tough.)  Roll out dough on a floured surface and fit into your pie pan creating a rolled top edge.  Prick the bottom of the crust lightly with a fork about 5-6 times.

Preheat the over to 400 degrees F.  

Filling

You can get creative and use whatever vegetables you might have on hand as long as your top layer of vegetables is tomatoes which provide juices that filter through the entire dish.  Here's what was in the pie pictured above.

1 large portabella mushroom, finely chopped

1 small leek or onion, finely chopped

1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

4 cups of mixed greens and fresh herbs (kale, bok choi, chard, parsley, tarragon, oregano, basil, sage), which will  make about 2 cups of finely chopped greens.  Save about 2 Tbsp of the greens to sprinkle on top of the tomatoes

1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

2 small or 1 large potato, cooked (about 4 min in the microwave) and thinly sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese

3 large tomatoes (I used 2 red and about 4 plum sized yellow ones), medium sliced

1 cup of grated cheese (I mixed, Parmesan, sharp cheddar and vegan mozzarella)

3 eggs 

1/2 cup milk

1/4 tsp of sea salt or 1 Tbsp Bragg's amino acids

In the unbaked pie shell, layer the vegetables and cheeses.  Here's the layering for the one pictured starting with the crust going up:

Mushrooms mixed with leeks (chopped together in the processor)

Greens/herbs mixed with garlic and jalapeño (chopped together in the processor)

Feta cheese

Sliced potatoes

1/2 cup of the grated cheese mixture

Sliced tomatoes

Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of reserved greens/herb mixture 

Top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese

Beat together the eggs, milk and Bragg's amino acids or salt.  Pour over the pie ingredients.  Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees F for 15 minutes and turn down the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for approximately 45 minutes more until the top is nicely browned and the filling is bubbling and not too liquid.  The filling may be a little wet depending on how juicy your tomatoes were, but it will come together more as it rests.  Cool for about 15 minutes before cutting into 6 wedges.

Vegetable pie cooling before cutting

Other vegetables that would be tasty in this dish would be to switch out the greens for 2 cups of chopped broccoli or cubed or sliced zucchini, or summer squash.  Instead of regular potatoes, make a single layer of sliced or cubed acorn, delicata or butternut squash or sweet potato.  Let your imagination go and create any combination that speaks to you.

As Julia Child would say "Bon appétit!."  Thanks for reading!