Broccoli Pot Pie

It’s spring break this week, so I decided to try a more challenging/indulgent recipe. I’ve had this broccoli-cheddar pot pie recipe from Oh My Veggies bookmarked for a while. I made a couple changes for my own convenience – I don’t own ramekins, so I made one big pie instead. I also used frozen broccoli (since I don’t have a steamer), replaced the egg wash with olive oil (because we never have eggs on hand), and used soy milk instead of dairy (because we never buy dairy milk anymore). Also, since my local natural grocery store only sold one kind of puff pastry in a giant sheet that couldn’t be divided before thawing, I decided to use it all up at once by adding a bottom crust to the pie.

I know the previous paragraph makes it sound like I have a depressingly understocked kitchen, but I actually bought a Misto olive oil sprayer because of this recipe! (I wanted to brush EVOO on the crust, but the store didn’t have any non-crappy pastry brushes in stock, so here we are.) I love it so far – it works just like PAM after you pump it a few times. If you don’t have cooking spray, you could definitely just use a pastry brush instead, like in the original recipe.

Anyway, this was pretty good. BF happily devoured his fresh-out-of-the-oven serving AND his leftover serving the next day. I personally thought the filling tasted bland right out of the oven, but it was flavorful and delicious the next day. I can probably blame that on using frozen vegetables instead of fresh. Either way, I’m thinking this would be a good make-ahead dish.

Also, unsurprisingly, the double puff pastry crust was super rich, maybe even TOO rich – like, i couldn’t finish my first serving because of butter overload. I think next time, I will try making my own pie crust instead. It might also be good with mashed potatoes as a topping instead of a crust.

Note – I was also cooking roasted potatoes in my oven while I made this pie. If you are cooking it alone in the oven, watch the cooking times carefully.

Ingredients:

– 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (I used one 14 oz package of DuFour)
– 16 oz (about 4 c) frozen broccoli
– 1 c unsweetened soymilk
– 3 tbsp all purpose flour
– 4 oz shredded Cheddar
– 1 tsp salt
– pepper to taste
– olive oil in mister, or cooking spray

Materials:

– 8×8-inch baking dish
– medium pot for cooking broccoli
– medium saucepan
– surface for laying out/cutting puff pastry (a large cutting board works)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400, and mist the baking dish with olive oil.
2. Lay out the puff pastry. Cut one piece large enough to cover the bottom and 2 sides of the dish (about half the sheet). Place it in the baking dish. Mist with olive oil. Prick a few holes in it with a fork, and bake for 15 minutes. Set aside.
2. Cook broccoli in boiling water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan, combine flour and milk. While stirring constantly, bring to a boil (at medium heat), then reduce heat to low and stir a few minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and salt. Add pepper to taste. Stir in broccoli.
4. Pour cheese mixture into baking dish. Top with a piece of puff pastry large enough to cover the dish. Use a fork to crimp the edges down (don’t poke holes in this layer or it won’t rise). Mist top with olive oil.
5. Bake 15-25 minutes, or until top crust is puffed and golden brown. Cool 10-15 minutes and serve.