Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy's Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
Humble Pie
 
There’s no need to lament your leftover veggies when you can wrap them up in a bit of tasty dough and make a HUMBLE PIE.  Using produce languishing in the fridge or pantry, pies are a festive, special way to give them a 2nd life.  What’s more, the pie dough trimmings also make tasty crackers, wafers, or breadsticks, decorated with your favorite spice blends, seeds, seasonings and toppings!
 
Prep Time 45 minutes                Bake Time 15-20 minutes                Makes one 9” pie
 
Dough
1 cup chickpea or your favorite legume flour 
1 cup buckwheat flour or your favorite flour
3 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
3 Tablespoons flax seed, freshly ground
2 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon onion granules or powder
1 teaspoon garlic granules or powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
Big pinch ground white pepper
½ cup sweet potato pulp, baked or microwaved
¾ cup applesauce
1 teaspoon fermented apple cider vinegar
 
Optional toppings: a light sprinkling of dried herbs like thyme or rosemary, spices like ground chili, black pepper, ornamental salts, onion flakes or veggie powders. 
 
Filling
1 onion or 3 large shallots, medium dice
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 
1 cup any leafy greens, cut chiffonade and steamed if hearty like kale or collards (chard and spinach can be added raw) 
2 cups starchy veggie, steamed or baked 
2 cups green veggies, steamed 
No-sodium veggie broth to deglaze pan
Salt to taste (if using) and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups low-fat plant milk (here I used unsweetened almond)
3 Tablespoons tapioca, arrowroot, potato or corn starch, kuzu, or a combo of any of them
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
 
Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C
 
Crust
 If making your own legume flour, first roast at 300°F/150°C for 30 minutes, then mill on a fine setting.
Combine all dry crust ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to mix. Add sweet potato, apple sauce and vinegar. Run for 1-2 minutes or until the dough develops and gathers into a ball.  The texture should be soft and pliant.  Adjust with a bit more flour or apple sauce if too wet or dry.  Leave covered in the processor or remove and wrap in plastic to prevent drying.
 
Filling
 Heat a large skillet for 5 minutes over medium heat. 
Add onion and thyme and dry sauté for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauté until onions soften and begin to carmelize the pan. Deglaze with a minimal amount of broth.
Add your other cooked vegetables, stirring to combine.  Cook for 2 minutes.
In a bowl add just enough plant milk to the starch(es) to create a smooth paste without lumps, Slowly add the remaining milk, whisking or beating to combine.  Stir in the nutmeg.
Add half the milk-starch mixture to the skillet, stirring gently to coat all the vegetables. In a minute, the sauce will thicken.  Add as much of the starch-milk mixture as needed to create a light coating to flavor and bind the vegetables.  Do not drown them in sauce however or the vegetables will not hold together in the pie.  Season to taste, extinguish flame, cover, and set aside.
 
Creating the pie
 Sprinkle a little flour (whole grain or legume) on a large board and roll out the dough into a large circle about ¼” thick.  As the dough begins to adhere to the board, lightly flour, flip, and flour that side too.
Fold in quarters and transfer to a 9” pyrex pie plate. Press lightly into the sides and along the rim.  With a sharp knife trim the excess dough overhanging the perimeter of the rim.  Crimp the edges for a more decorative appearance. Gather the trimmings into a ball, wrap in plastic and set aside.
Spoon in the filling to fill the pie to capacity, mounding it in the center. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 15 minutes and begin checking for doneness. The pie will be done when it is bubbly and the crust is golden. 
Transfer to a cooling rack and if you can, wait about minutes for the filling to congeal before slicing.  
Roll out the remaining dough to the same thickness. Cut out shapes with your favorite cookie cutters.  Brush on a little plant milk and sprinkle with herbs, spices as you prefer. Bake separately on a baking stone or cookies sheet lined with parchment for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden on the edges and puffy.
Decorate your pie with as many crackers as you like. And have fun munching on the rest!