Creamy Vegetable Pie. New Music From Manwomanchild.

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store for Thanksgiving Day, but couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, “Do these turkeys get any bigger?”

“No, ma’am. They’re dead.”

David Child, the front of Philadelphia-based band Manwomanchild, was interested in a vegetarian dish suitable for Thanksgiving.

I think a Creamy Vegetable Pie would be perfect on any celebratory table.

I saw a photo somewhere of a pie that had a layered filo crust. It looked so pretty that I gave it a try here. I love the flaky crunch of the cooked filo against the creamy vegetable filling. If you want to top with puff pastry, pot-pie style like Linda McCartney did in her recipe, that would be delicious as well. Instructions for both are in the directions.

Creamy Vegetable Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups corn kernels
3/4 pound broccoli
3/4 pound zucchini
3/4 pound carrots
1/4 pound green beans
3 small leeks
1 1/4 cups béchamel sauce (recipe follows)
Mixture of fresh herbs such as thyme, basil, parsley and/or dill, chopped
8 ounces puff pastry or 20 sheets of filo dough (have about 1/2 cup melted butter handy if using filo)
2 ounces feta cheese, chopped, optional, to serve

Directions:

1. Steam all the vegetables separately until crisp-tender. (Easy to do in the microwave)

2. Let vegetables cool then chop into bite-size pieces.

3. Stir vegetables and herbs into bechamel.

4. If going the filo route, lay a sheet of filo in a greased 9 inch pie plate. Brush with some melted butter and top with another layer of filo. Continue until all of the filo is used up. Pour vegetable mixture into filo crust.

5. To make the pie with puff pastry, roll out the pastry to a round just a bit larger than the diameter of a 9 inch baking dish. With the trimmings make a long thin strip of pastry. Pour vegetable mixture into baking dish. Moisten the rim of the baking dish and place the puff pastry strip on it. Moisten the strip, then place the pastry lid on top and press down with a fork to seal the edge.

6. Bake at 200℃/400℉ for 30-40 minutes or until the edges of the filo are crisp and golden or if using puff pastry, the pastry is risen and golden. Sprinkle with feta before serving, if you like.

Serves 4-6

Béchamel Sauce

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk
Pinch of salt and freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden color, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Slowly add the milk to the butter mixture, whisking continuously until very smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and add salt and nutmeg.

Makes 1 1/4 cups

Recipes from Linda’s Kitchen by Linda McCartney

I love all things Boston, Brit pop and carefully crafted lyrics. ‘Return To Ithaca’ has it all. Seriously, it is as if David Child created this song in a time machine from an 80s era control panel. It is a terrific tune and one definitely worthy of a Thanksgiving playlist.