Beyond Meat Chicken Pot Pies

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

This is a perfect fall dinner that's surprisingly easy to pull together. It is full of veggies, completely vegan, and packed with protein - this is a comfort dish, a recovery meal, and a lot of fun to cook.

Broth

-Ingredients-
3 tablespoons oil (olive, veggie, or avocado)
3/4 cup diced red onion
2 cloves diced garlic
3.5 cups veggie broth
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt (to taste - depending on how salty your veggie broth is)
Pepper, to taste
Dash of oregano
8 to 12 ounces of frozen veggie mix (corn, green beans, corn, carrots, etc...)
1/2 package of Beyond Meat Chicken Strips, cut into 1/2" pieces

-Instructions-
Making the broth starts with a roux.
Note: Gordon Ramsay makes a roux in the first minute of this video:

Instead of butter, we use oil. Instead of milk, we use veggie broth. 

Sautéing the onion and garlic in the oil before adding flour just adds flavor to the whole shebang.

We use a 2.5" deep cooking pan. By the end of it, the broth is almost filling the pan.

1. Warm the oil in a deep pan over medium-low heat. Sauté until the onions are clear and soft - about 8 minutes.
2. Turn the heat up to medium and add the flour. Stir it around the pan so it soaks up the oil and forms a paste-like substance. The flour will kind of clump together. You want it all to have some oil in it - if there is dry flour in your pan, add a little more oil and continue stirring. Stir for at least 5 minutes so that the flour cooks. Watch the first minute of the above-linked video of Gordon Ramsay to see what the cooked flour paste (the roux) should look like.
3. Once the flour has soaked up oil and cooked a bit, add the veggie broth. Whisk it in to form a smooth sauce. It won't be completely smooth because of the onions and garlic. Let this get hot - keep stirring. The broth should be opaque and thicker than soup broth.
4. Add the frozen veggies and the Beyond Meat "chicken" pieces.

Turn the heat back to medium-low and let the broth thicken while you finish the biscuits.

Biscuits

Uncooked biscuits ready for the oven

-Ingredients-
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons non-dairy butter - keep this in the fridge until you're ready to go.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar

-Instructions-
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F)
2. Measure out the almond milk into a pyrex or cup. Add the lemon juice or vinegar. Stir and let it sit.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Cut in the cold butter - the colder it is, the easier this will be. A pastry cutter is an awesome kitchen tool that will make your life easier. Alternatively, mix in the butter by hand.
5. Dump the almond milk mixture into the bowl.
6. Mix by folding the flour - you don't want to beat the crap out of it. You want to gently fold the mixture, letting the flour clump to the liquid and make a shaggy dough. It should be sticky. If it's not, add a little more almond milk. You do NOT want it to be wet. You just want it to be tacky.
7. When the dough has formed a shaggy ball, flour the counter and dump the mixture onto it. Knead it with your hands (fold over and gently push), working flour in so it doesn't stick to the counter. Knead it about 5 or 6 times.
8. Form the dough into a 1" flat disk with your hands or a rolling pin (gently).
9. Cut out biscuits with a cookie cutter, lid, etc..  that is around 2" wide.

Putting it all together

When the biscuits are ready, pour the broth into a deep pot
Gently place the biscuits on top of the broth to form a crust.
Bake the extra biscuits along with the pot pie - I always want more to dunk into the broth!
Cook for 12-15 minutes at 425F.


Adapted from:
http://minimalistbaker.com/1-hour-vegan-pot-pies/
http://minimalistbaker.com/the-best-damn-vegan-biscuits/