Tasty Tuesday - Sweet Potato Pot Pie

I love, love, love (love, love) pot pie, but have not had one since going vegetarian years ago. I've seen this recipe before at 101 Cookbooks, but never made it since it calls for puff pastry and milk. Puff pastry was never on my grocery list as it contains enriched bleached flour and tons of butter. But one day I wanted a pot pie enough that I thought "What the heck?" Finding puff pastry to be near $4, I decided to forgo the pastry and make a pie crust instead for the topping out of whole wheat pastry flour, butter, and just a bit of vegetable shortening.

It was AMAZING, if I do say so myself. The sweet potatoes and corn blended to make a delightfully sweet, rich and creamy pot pie. Comfort food, for sure. I'm going to make this one over and over again.

The original puff pastry recipe is here. Below is my recipe, with the pie crust topping, and added black beans for protein.

For my carnivorous friends, feel free to add diced cooked chicken to the recipe. I bet that would work well.

Sweet Potato Pot Pie

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 to 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilies (or more to taste)
1 cup corn kernels, fresh, frozen, or canned
1 cup black beans (canned is fine)
2 cups cold low-fat milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 pie crust (recipe below)
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the oil, onion, garlic, sweet potato and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the adobo sauce, black beans, and corn.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and cornstarch, then pour the mixture into the sweet potato pot. Leave the heat at medium-high for a few minutes to bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until the filling starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season with more salt to taste. Pour the filling into an ovenproof bowl or casserole dish.

Place the pie crust over the filling. Brush the dough lightly with egg white (this creates a golden crust).

Using a fork, poke a few holes in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape, and bake until the crust is deeply golden, about 15 minutes. Tip: Bake the potpie on a baking sheet lined with foil in case some of the filling bubbles over.

Basic Pastry Dough
This is adapted from my Mom's famous pie crust - made more healthy (sorry Mom!) I use whole wheat pastry flour and mostly butter instead of all shortening

For a single crust pie or a tart

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or AP flour)
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons ice water

Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingers or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea sized) lumps of butter. For a single crust pie or tart, drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn't hold together, add more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.

Gather dough into a ball and shape into a flattened round on a lightly floured surface. (At this point, the dough can be refrigerated for an hour or a day.) Roll dough 2" larger than inverted pan. Pastry is ready to use as desired.