Seitan Pot Pie with Mushrooms and Pearl Onions

I mentioned this dish in the last post so I thought I’d give you the recipe. This is what I had for Thanksgiving this year, and it went over pretty well! I liked that it satisfied my appetite for more than one Thanksgiving dish at once with its gravy and biscuits and veggies all mixed together.

Seitan Pot Pie with Mushrooms and Pearl Onions

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

10 oz. pearl onions, peeled if fresh, thawed if frozen

2 8 oz packages seitan, sliced into thin strips

1 tbsp minced garlic

2-3 tablespoons oil, more if necessary

1 ¼ tsp dried parsley

¼ tsp dried marjoram

¼ tsp dried savory

¼ tsp dried rosemary (crunched up a bit)

¼ tsp dried thyme

Salt and pepper and/or lemon pepper seasoning to taste

3 Tbsp flour

3 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or water + bouillon/broth powder)

Up to 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tsp water (optional)

1 or 2 tsp soy sauce

9-10 uncooked biscuits (dough), either frozen or homemade

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sauté mushrooms, onions, seitan, and garlic until browned, either separately in batches or all together in a big pan, using whatever oil or cooking spray is necessary. Stir in herbs and seasonings and pour it all into your casserole pan, distributing ingredients evenly so some of everything will be in each serving.

Now, make the gravy.  For the roux, put 2 tbsp oil into the same pan used for sauteing (no need to wash it in between) and add the 3 tbsp flour. Stir together with your spatula and cook over fairly low heat, continuing to stir, until slightly browned. Add broth and simmer for 3-4 minutes while stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Try to mash any clumps that occur. At this point examine your gravy to see if it has thickened adequately.  If not, add the cornstarch and water and cook a minute or two longer.

Add soy sauce to gravy and stir.  It’s not a bad idea to taste it at this point and add salt, pepper and/or lemon pepper if necessary.  Don’t be too generous, though, as it may get stronger once it’s mixed with other ingredients and cooked. When you’re satisfied, pour gravy over the seitan and vegetables in casserole pan.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Pull dish out of the oven and carefully place biscuits over the top of dish.  Bake about 15 minutes more, until biscuits are fully cooked and golden brown.

Note:  I've made this with only half the seitan before, and it worked fine. It's just not as high protein that way.

Variations:   

The vegetables can be changed: potatoes, carrots or peas would be typical choices.  The protein could be switched out for various fake meats, tempeh, or even beans (garbanzos or butter beans would be my top choices). 

The gravy could be turned into a creamier sauce by switching part or all of the broth with soymilk.

The topping could be changed to a pie crust or puff pastry, in which case you would want to put the topping on at the beginning of the baking time instead of partway through.

The seasonings could be changed too. Cajun or curry flavors might be interesting.