Cranberry Stuffing Festive Pot Pies
I’ve never been fussed about pies, yet something in me seems to have switched. In the last few months I’ve been loving the pie hype. After making my popular Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Pie I’ve been making pies of all forms! Recently, I found this amazing recipe for Mushroom Gravy Pie with Mashed Potato by The First Mess – it most certainly satisfied the pie craving! Although a good pastry covering a saucy vegan mess is always good, I personally like something a little different (like mash!) to top off my pie. That’s why I’ve finished off these Christmas chunky veg pot pies with a flavoursome gluten-free stuffing! If you haven’t made stuffing with old bread before, do it! It’s a great way to reduce your waste and make something actually mind-blowingly good!
Lets start from the top, aka. The Stuffing. This stuff is the sh*t. You will not believe its made from gluten-free bread. GF bread is hit and miss and it’s often not even vegan! Sainsbury’s has come to our rescue with its new GF bread straight from the bakery. It tastes good, has a good texture and there is no egg whites in sight. Perfect. Of course, if you’re not gluten-free, go ahead and use regular bread, but here at The Hungry Herbivores, I like to include everyone! Your bread is cubed into pieces and mixed up with sautéed onions, an assortment of herbs and not forgetting those fresh cranberries for a beautiful tang that finishes off the dish beautifully!
Even if you don’t try the rest of the pie – cook up this stuffing in a roasting tin and serve up as is!
So what does the inside of a festive pot pie look like? Well this one has the traditional festive veg: butternut squash, parsnips, onion and carrots. What make this inside that mark above the rest is the chestnuts embedded into the gravy & vegetable filling. Chestnuts will always be the ultimate Christmas nut. I would never encounter a chestnut unless it was decemeber, i’m sure of it! They add something special to these cute lil pies, working beautifully with the tartness of the cranberries in the stuffing. If that’s not christmas, i don’t know what is! What’s even greater is that you can get chestnuts already cooked, just for your convenience. Thank you Merchant Gourmet!
Laugh if you will, but the real reason I wanted to make some festive pot pies was so I could utilise these absolutely adorable ceramic pots. I am seriously in love with ceramics. When I came across these gorgeous lidded pots while in Glastonbury, I just had to have them. They’re a collection of vintage Denby pots. If you haven’t seen Denby’s ceramics before, approach with caution because you may end up spending a lot of money on bowls! I love it!
It’s about time you got cooking, right? Try out the recipe and let me know how it goes in comments!
- 2 cups gluten-free bread*, cubed
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1 cup cranberries
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- ½ tsp each salt & pepper
- 2½ cups (one small) butternut squash, cubed
- 1 parsnip, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp mustard
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 cup cooked chestnuts
- salt & pepper
- Preheat your oven to 375F/190C/gas mark 5 and prepare five pie pots on a baking tray
- In a large saucepan, heat a tbsp of olive oil over med-high and fry your onions for a few minutes until translucent.
- Add your garlic, thyme, sage and oregano, stir and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the butternut squash, parsnip and carrot. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the balsamic and mustard and stir to combine, then pour in the stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover for 10 minutes or until the veg has softened.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornflour and the non-dairy milk. Then pour into the vegetables. Stir and it should thicken (about 3 minutes).
- Stir in the chestnuts and season with salt and pepper to taste, Set aside.
- In a wok or large skillet, fry the onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil over med-high until slightly browned.
- Add the herbs, celery, salt, pepper bread and cranberries and stir together. Continue to fry for 1 minute.
- Add the stock and fold together, trying not to bread up the bread too much.
- Remove from the heat.
- Pour just shy of 2 cups of the vegetable pie filling into each pot, then top with ½ cup to ¾ cup of the stuffing so that the vegetables are fully covered.
- Place in the oven and cook for 45-50 minutes. If the stuffing starts to burn on top, cover with a lid or with foil.
- Cool for a few minutes before serving.