In the late 1980s my wife and I made the life changing decision to shun fish, fowl, and meat, and have followed that dietary lifestyle to this day. We continued to consume dairy products; cheese, yogurt, cream and milk. After all, tea without milk is – well, no need to dwell on the obvious. Although I don’t like being labelled, partaking in dairy categorised us as lacto-ovo vegetarians.
From birth, our children were raised vegetarian. No Big Mac cheeseburgers or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Clowns were scary and KFC’s Colonel Saunders wasn’t a real Colonel.
Everyday food shopping back then was a pain in the derriere. Today there’s a wide and diverse range of vegetarian and vegan products in supermarkets and on restaurant menus. Not so in the waning years of the previous century when menu preparation was challenging, hampered with social ignorance. Reading product labels was an eye opener.
‘What do you eat?‘
That was a question frequently asked by colleagues and family up until the turn of the century. For our family the question reared its ugly head mostly on four specific times of the year – Christmas, Canadian (not American) Thanksgiving, Easter, and barbecue season. I began to wonder if people thought we might be the vanguard of a vegetarian fifth column.
Christmas was when ‘the question’ was asked most. It mattered not that we decked the halls and other areas of the house with boughs of holly and other Yuletide trimmings, or placed presents under a tree and hung stockings by the chimney with care. Our family also filled the silent night with Christmas music and wished for peace on Earth and goodwill toward everyone – not to mention six winning lottery numbers. Adherence to these traditional rituals mattered not, because Christmas was, and is, roast or turkey-time. We didn’t eat turkey. Turkeys sought sanctuary at our door.
There are a few very tasty veggie alternatives for the Christmas feast. However, it was a recipe in the Toronto Star that, with a few alterations to suit our taste, established a Kinsey clan tradition that has endured going on 40 years.
The main course at a vegetarian Christmas feast
When you think of veggie pie, don’t conjure up a vision of a pie shell stuffed with raw vegetables and sprinkled with grated tofu. Seriously, have you ever tried to grate tofu? Anyway, if I served that, you’d likely never want to dine at my house again. The actual dish is a delicacy for vegetarians and omnivore alike. But not suitable for vegans.
Veggie pie is created in two stages. The filling is prepared the day before serving, then placed in the pie shell just before sliding the finished product into the oven.
Just basic ingredients required
Bonus! You don’t need to shop for high priced, sometimes hard to find, spices or pastes that you might never use again. Not to mention they’ll likely sit hidden in the back of the cupboard shelf until the expiry date is long past.
For the pie filling you need:
1 400ml tin of Green Beans (save the liquid)
1 Vegetarian cube dissolved in 300ml of hot water
2 Courgettes, cut each into two halves then slice
2 Peppers, cleaned out and sliced in approximately 1/2 inch strips
4 medium size Carrots, peeled and shredded
20 fresh Mushrooms, peeled and sliced (not too thin)
4 large Garlic Cloves, minced; or 2 teaspoons of garlic from a jar (Cloves are better)
215ml Passatta
Blend the following Spices in a bowl. Novice chefs, don’t mix up tablespoon and teaspoon.
2 tsp Chilli Power
2 tbsp Oregano
2 tsp Basil
Cooking the pie filling
Pour the liquid from the green beans and the vegetarian cube in a large pot and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-high.
Add the following (individually) to a large enough pot, blending each time until all is tender.
Garlic, peppers, carrots, courgettes, mushrooms.
Add passata and green beans.
Reduce the burner to the lowest temperature.
After ensuring everything is well mixed in, remove the pot from the burner
Drain the liquid, then return the pot to the burner.
Blend in the spice mixture 2tbls at a time.
Stir (frequently) for approximately 10 minutes then remove from heat.
Drain again and dump the filling into a bowl, let cool, cover and refrigerate.
Preparing the pie filling and cooking
You’re going to need:
- A 9-inch pie plate.
- Pastry; enough for the pie plate and top cover. I’m not going to include how to make a pastry pie crust as you likely have your own recipe. If you’ve never made a pie crust, it’s not rocket science. There are hundreds of easy Internet recipes and You Tube videos. Please do not use a store-bought pie crust!
- 1 tbsp Flour
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 cups coloured Cheese, grated
Bring out the pie filling and let stand until room temperature.
Very important: Thoroughly drain additional liquid.
Heat the oven to 180c.
- Toss the cheese, brown sugar and flour into the pie filling and stir thoroughly.
- Add the pie filling to the pie crust, evenly, and top off with the pastry cover.
- Bake at 180c for 1 hour.
After removing from the oven, let the veggie pie stand for 5 minutes.
Serves 4 to 8 depending on how you slice it. You can accompany veggie pie with a side salad.
If you’d like to contribute to Foodie Friday you are more than welcome. Please email your recipe, with a brief background article, to articles@bylines.scot and add Foodie Friday to the subject line.
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