Vegetarian Mushroom Pot Pie

Two mushroom pot pies next to fresh mushrooms and herbs

This creamy mushroom pot pie is topped with a shortcrust pastry for a made from scratch vegetarian main meal. The mushroom filling is rich, made with 4 types of mushrooms, brandy, cream and fresh herbs.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 634kcal

Author Slow The Cook Down

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry

4 ounces all purpose flour (125g)
2.3 ounces salted butter (softened) (65g)
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
½ teaspoon black pepper

For the mushroom filling

2 white onions
4 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons salted butter
freshly ground black pepper
2 portobello mushrooms
4 shitake mushrooms
3.5 ounces oyster mushrooms (100g)
3.5 ounces crimini mushrooms (100g)
2 ounces brandy (60ml)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup vegetable stock (235ml)
1 cup table cream (235ml)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To make the shortcrust pastry

Add the flour to a large bowl. Cube the butter and add in. With your fingers rub the butter and flour together until you have a breadcrumb like consistency.
Mix in the grated parmesan and black pepper, then add a tablespoon of water and combine the dough with your hands. Add the water a tablespoon at a time while combining until the dough comes together. It should hold together and form a ball.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge until needed.

To make the pie filling

Finely dice the onions and garlic and slice the mushrooms. The mushrooms will shrink in size during cooking, so thick slices are totally fine, you don't want to turn them into mush!
Place a large pot on a medium heat and add the butter, onions and garlic along with some freshly cracked black pepper. Cook until they have softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the pot and stir everything together. Cook for about 10 minutes whilst stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have released their liquid.
Turn the heat up to high and stir the mushrooms for a minute then add in the brandy, cook while stirring for a couple of minutes until the liquid has evaporated. Turn the heat down to a medium high.
Add in a tablespoon of flour to the mushrooms and stir well, then add the other tablespoon and stir and cook to combine. You want to cook the flour so that you don't taste it in the finished dish, so give it 2 or 3 minutes.
Pour the stock and cream into the mushrooms and stir to combine, then add in the mustard and chopped fresh herbs.
Cook for about 10 minutes on a medium high heat until the sauce has thickened slightly. Take off of the heat, taste and add in some salt and pepper if you like. Don't be shy with the black pepper, it really adds to this dish.

Making the pies

Preheat the oven to 390ºf / 200ºc.
Take the dough out of the fridge and dust your work surface with a little flour. Roll out the dough. I don't like mine too thick, but roll it out to your preference. Cut it into squares slightly bigger than your dishes.
Fill your pie dishes equally with the filling, it shouldn't go all the way to the top.
Brush the edges of the dishes with a little cream (or beaten egg) and lay a square of pastry over the top. Trim off the excess pastry with a sharp knife, leaving a little overhang. Repeat with the other pies. Pierce the top of the pies a couple of times with a fork to let the steam escape and brush with a little cream or beaten egg.
Place the pies on a baking tray and bake in the oven for around 40 - 50 minutes until the tops of the pies are golden brown.

Notes

Slice the mushrooms fairly thickly as they will shrink a lot during cooking.
Be sure that you cook the flour out when you add it to the mushrooms for a few minutes so that it looses it's flavor.
Use fresh herbs for the best possible tasting pies.
Leave a little overhang when you add the pastry to the top of the pies as it will shrink when cooked.
You can use either a little cream to brush the top of the pastry or a beaten egg.

Make Ahead Options

Make the dough and the filling up to two days ahead of time and keep them covered separately in the fridge. Assemble the pies and bake when you are ready to serve.
Bake the pies, let them cool to room temperature and keep them covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Cover the tops loosely with foil and reheat them in a pre-heated oven at 300ºf / 150ºc for around 20 to 30 minutes until warmed through.
You can freeze the pies unbaked, simply wrap tightly in plastic and foil and freeze up to 3 months. You can then cook from frozen, just brush with a little cream or beaten egg and cook at 375ºf / 190ºc for about an hour. Cover lightly with foil if the edges start to brown too much.
You can freeze a baked pie, by letting it cool completely then freezing as above. You can reheat from frozen at 375ºf / 190ºc for about 30-40 minutes.

Nutritional values are an estimate only and are based on one pie.

Nutrition