As I got going on this, I realized there were several steps to be done before I could put it all together and bake it. You need a crust, a gravy, a mashed topping, and a veggie filling. The first thing I did was get distracted by a lovely, delicate cauliflower leaf. I can't help myself. Art is everywhere. I talked about this in my other blog today, if you're interested, but I'll try to stick to the cooking part here.
I eventually steamed and mashed the cauliflower, making my alternate to mashed potatoes for the top of the pie. You could of course use regular mashers if you want to. Next I made a crust out of nut pulp left from a batch of almond milk, mixed with chopped mushrooms, a little quinoa flour, and some chia seeds. I baked it for a little while before filling it, and although it tasted really good, it was still a bit too moist. You might want to use a regular sort of pie crust if you're good at making them, or even buy one ready to fill.
The gravy was delicious, made with onions, quinoa flour, mushrooms, broth, and a splash of wine. Once it was thickened, I filled the crust with peas, carrots, corn, and broccoli, poured the gravy over the veggies, and spread the mashed cauliflower over the top. I baked it for 30 minutes at 350ยบ, but by this time I had been making dinner for almost 2 hours, and we were starving. I hesitate to show you the following picture, because I forgot to even take it until after we'd eaten. That's how hungry we were. But you get the idea...
Basically, this was really good, full of flavor and truly satisfying. Try it yourself, with your own customizations. You could also add some tempeh or veggie burger crumbles for more texture and "authenticity." I'll make this again, with a little work on the crust mostly. When I get it really right, I'll take better pictures...
