Mushroom Pie
Submitted by
S.J. Hannahs (University of Durham)
Story behind this recipe
This is good with fresh peas, green beans or brussels sprouts and a nice lettuce/tomato/avocado salad with mustard dressing.
Ingredients
For filling:
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 small potatoes, diced
1/2 lb mushrooms, cut into chunks (not sliced)
2 tbsp olive oil (for sauteing)
1 tsp sea salt (or more, to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 pinch each: marjoram, thyme, sage
For white sauce:
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1 cup milk
For pastry:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
Serving size
N/A
Measuring units
US
Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
Sauté the onion, celery and carrot in the olive oil in a saucepan until the onion is translucent.
Add the potatoes. Continue to cook, stirring, for a few minutes until the potatoes begin to soften.
Add the mushrooms. Continue cooking until the mushrooms no longer look raw and there is some juice in the bottom of the pan. Add the salt, pepper and herbs. Take the saucepan off the burner.
For the pastry, cut the butter into the flour and salt until the resulting mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add just enough *cold* water to form a dough that can be rolled out. Reserve about 1/4 of the dough to use as the lid of the pie. Roll out the rest to about 1/8" (approx. 4 mm) thick to line a small (approx. 1-1/2 qt./litre) soufflé dish. Roll out the reserved dough to make a lid for the pie. Prick it with a fork.
For the white sauce (béchamel), melt the butter in a small saucepan. Gradually add the flour, stirring until the flour/butter mixture has an even consistency. Add some of the milk and stir until there are no lumps. Add more of the milk, again stirring until there are no lumps. Add the rest of the milk, continue cooking over low heat, stirring until sauce begins to thicken.
Stir the mushroom mixture into the white sauce, then pour into the pastry. Put the lid on the pie and fold the edges of the pastry over the top of the lid. Brush top with milk, if desired. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is a golden brown.