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NEXT MAIN MENU PREVIOUS Savory Holiday Pie This pie is the happy result of an incredibly stressful Thanksgiving grocery shopping experience. As the grown up folks in this house are wont to do, we waited until the day before Thanksgiving to go shopping for our feast, which didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for unexpected challenges. Braving the day-before-Thanksgiving mayhem with my list divided between the two of us and my battle plan in mind, complete with the grocery store floor plan and little dash marks (John was on his own), it wasn’t long before we hit a bit of a hitch. I was planning to make last year’s big hit, The Whole Shebang , which requires a finicky and labor-intensive gluten-free puff pastry that must chill and be folded and refolded over 20 hours. (Yes, what I lack in organization, I make up for in ambition.) The problem was the first grocery store didn’t have the necessary flour blend. Nor did the second store. Nor did the third or fourth ones we called. With my husband and the clerk offering random suggestions that, frankly, made no sense, I walked away from the noise and put together a plan B that would have to feed the fifteen people we were expecting the next day. As it came together in my mind, I realized that not only was it not a consolation prize, it would be as tasty and much, much easier than the puff pastry showstopper from 2015. I picked up a few boxes of gluten-free pie crust mix and basically used everything else from the previous recipe, this time in pie form. It was everything I’d hoped for and then some. Coming out of the oven, this baby is impressive, no less impressive than the puff pastry of last year. Our guests even gasped and took out their cell phones. Though it is quite a lot of steps and dirtied dishes, the Savory Holiday Pie is very easy to make and entirely worthwhile. Bring this to your holiday potluck and all the anti-vegans will be eating their words along with some tasty savory pie. Warm and filling, it is reminiscent of a shepherd’s pie but with all the delicious flavors we associate with this time of year: Stuffing, greens, a hearty protein, mashed potatoes. Also, feel free to adapt the recipe as you like. For example, you can make it soy-free by using seitan or chickpeas for the tofu; use roasted Brussels sprouts instead of the kale; substitute barley for the stuffing. It’s up to you.   Savory Holiday Pie Vegan crust of your preference. You don’t want to make a sweet crust because it’s a savory pie. I used Breads from Anna Pie Crust Mix and it worked great. Stuffing (I adapted a version of this one) Mashed potatoes of your preference (I made this one with roasted garlic and fresh chives) Garlicky-lemon kale, like this recipe Seared tofu, like this recipe Gravy (I made the one at the bottom of this recipe) Begin with your pie crust. Make according to instructions. I made my pie in a deep-dish pan. If you don’t have that, two regular pie tins would work. Also, it doesn’t need to be shaped like a pie. A casserole pan would also work. Keep in mind that this will make too much stuffing and tofu for one recipe and you will have leftovers. Oh, no! Meanwhile, start your stuffing as that will take the most time. While the stuffing is cooking, start your mashed potatoes. As those are cooking, make your kale and seared tofu. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When the pie crust and the rest of the components are ready, start assembling. I put them in the order of tofu first (on the pie crust), then kale, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Shape the pie as you like. Sprinkle with chives, paprika, salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for five minutes and serve. This is great with gravy on the side. © 2013-2016, Vegan Street