A pie for Pi Day!

By / Entrée, Poultry / 3 Comments /

March 14th, as you know, is Pi Day worldwide, a day on which math enthusiasts celebrate the constant 3.14, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. One way to celebrate the day is to have pie parties, or at least make and eat pies! And to join in with the spirit of celebrations, that is what I decided to do too... make a pie!   pot-pie-slice Having been gorging on all kinds of sweet stuff during my recent vacation, my choice for this occasion was a pot pie... a vegetarian pot pie! A lot of veggies can go into this pie...   pot-pie-veg The key ingredient that gives this pot pie a unique kick up is ginger root! And instead of using a roux to thicken the filling, I like to use coconut milk which is healthier and adds to the flavour and creaminess of the filling.   And you can prepare the dough ahead of making the pie, and keep it chilled in the refrigerator up to 24 hours.   pot-pie-dough This pie makes a very good winter meal. And the leftovers will freeze very well too.   finished-pie

~Ria

Recipe for easy printing 
A pie for Pi Day!
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
  • 1 large onion, cut into small wedges
  • 4 ribs of celery, cut into small pieces
  • 3 cups mixed vegetables (red and green peppers, carrots, brussels sprouts) all cut into bite-size pieces. Peas too, but don’t cut them!
  • 2” piece ginger root, cut into thin juliennes
  • 1 can Coconut milk (available in Asian/ Mexican markets)
  • Salt & black pepper
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, chilled in the refrigerator
  • Ice cold water
Directions
  1. To make the pie crust, mix together the flour and salt. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and add to the flour, shaking to coat each piece. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour till the butter is reduced to pea sized bits. Sprinkle ice cold water on the flour and mix till you can just about form a loose dough. Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover with cling film and chill in the refrigerator.
  2. To make the filling, in a heavy bottomed pan, cook the potato, onion, celery and ginger with a half cup of water. When the potato is half done, add the rest of the vegetables, coconut milk, and enough salt. Cover and cook till everything is done.
  3. While the pan is still on the stove, mash a few of the potato pieces using the back of a wooden spoon to thicken the liquid in the filling. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Allow the filling to cool.
  4. When cool, transfer the filling into a 9” pie pan.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree fahrenheit.
  6. Roll out the dough into a thick circle slightly larger than the pie pan. Gently lift the rolled out dough on the rolling pin and lay it over the pie pan with the filling. Fold under any extra dough and crimp with the edges. Make a few cuts in the dough to allow steam to escape.
  7. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 40 minutes. When the top starts to get slightly brown, take the pie out of the oven. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting the pie.