Faux Beef Pot Pie

Earlier in the week I used my food processor to chop up a whole host of root and winter vegetables. Really almost anything can go in this dish and so far I've used different ingredients each time. The first time I made this I used left over pork tenderloin with vegetable stock and forgot to add the peas I had planned on using. This time Im going with, fennel, celery, carrots, turnip, diced onions and I have left over steak and home made beef stock. This dish could easily omit the meat if you choose. After you have all your vegetables chopped you can preheat your oven to 375F.

If you have leftover rice, bulgur or quinoa now is the time to take it out of the fridge. I had cooked quinoa the other day in vegetable stock for extra flavor. I added some olive oil and a half cup of shredded cheese to about two cups of cooked quinoa. I choose to go with mozzarella as I think it will compliment the flavor of the beef in the dish better but any cheese would do. Set aside the toping mixture for now.

If you are starting with raw meat, salt and pepper it and brown on all sides in a frying pan. Once cooked most of the way remove the meat to a side plate and drain off all but a tablespoon of fat or add enough olive oil (a must if skipping the meat) to make a tablespoon. Next add the hard root vegetables to the same frying pan. I like to sauté just long enough to take the hardness out of the vegetables, without getting anywhere near mushy, as once this dish is assembled it will be cooked another 30 min anyway. Next I add in about 3 tablespoons of flour (I used whole wheat) and cook for about 30 seconds. Add in peas, or less hardy vegetables like corn if using, and 2 cups of broth along with dried thyme and sage or rosemary and stir, cooking for another 2 minutes or until partially reduced. My broth is home made and therefore entirely devoid of salt so at this stage I like to add a good bit of sea salt to help bring out the flavor of the stock and the vegetables. After reduced a bit  add the meat back in to the frying pan.

Next I add in 3 tablespoons of plain fat free yogurt to the pan, stirring in well. You can use low fat Greek style which has a nice thickness and tangy taste or you can go with regular plain fat free as I have here. I sometimes find I need to add more yogurt if I use regular plain and more stock if I use the Greek style. Cook for a few minutes until the dish has thickened and then remove from heat. The liquid should look a bit like the kind of gravy you expect to find in pot pie but a bit thinner.

Transfer the contents of the frying pan to a casserole dish. Top with quinoa/cheese mixture evenly and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes or until top has browned. Once done let it cool for about 5 minutes and then dig in!