Tofu Skillet Pie and Confessions of a Procrastinator!!!

I have had pot pies before but have never made them, the main reason being I can never get the texture right on the pie crust; I prefer making my own (no offense to the numerous frozen puff pastries out there). I have 2 little confession to make…I bought this 8” iron skillet a few months ago, with plans of using it for cooking and baking. But let’s just say that I did not find an inauguration worthy recipe until two days ago.

I also have quite a few cookbooks lying around, many of which have not been touched for ages. I was flipping through Food & Wine’s Annual Cookbook 2009 when I found this recipe for a skillet pot pie. The first thing that appealed to me was that this pie did not need a pie crust…I couldn’t ask for anything better. So what is the substitute? Read on to find out.

Ingredients

Firm tofu (diced) – 1 ½ cups

Chopped onion – ¾ cup

Potato (diced) – ½ cup

Mushrooms (sliced) – ½ cup

Peas – ¼ cup

Milk – 1 cup

All purpose flour – 1 ½ tbsps

Water/vegetable stock – ½ cup

Butter – 1 ½-2 tbsps

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Chili powder – 1 tsp

Thick slices of bread

Method

Preheat the oven to 425^o F. Heat the iron skillet on the stove and add 1-1 ½ tbsps of butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, potatoes, and mushrooms; season with a bit of salt and pepper, cover and cook on high heat for a minute. Lower the heat, uncover and sauté until the vegetables are tender. Add the flour and the chili powder and stir for a minute (making sure the flour does not burn). Add the water and mix until the sauce thickens a little.  

Add the milk and bring it to a light boil. Add the tofu and peas, add salt and pepper if required; mix well and take it off the stove. Arrange the pieces of bread to cover the the skillet completely. Brush with the remaining butter and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot. Bon Appétit.  

Note 1) If you do not have an iron skillet, you can do the sautéing in a pan and transfer to an oven-proof dish later.

    2) Place a pan in the lower rack to catch the drippings from the skillet. The pie filling will bubble  over and burn (happened to me).