Just a quick rundown of the Pot Roast Pie recipe. After the standard recipe I have added a few possible suggestions on making it more WLS friendly. Keep in mind this pie was designed for a special occasion and yields 10 portions which works out to be closer to 15 pouch sized portions. The nutrition information is for the standard portion. Experiment and find out what works for you using the suggestions below the standard recipe.
Makes 10 standard size portions.
You will need:
3-4 lbs of thick cut chuck roast
10 cloves of garlic
4 ribs of celery
1 medium yellow or red onion
4 shallots
pot roast seasoning mix (optional)
baby carrots
frozen peas
1 medium red onion
1lb new potatoes skin on boiled until tender
1 pkg Simply Organic brown gravy mix
1 pkg Pepperidge Farm puff pastry
1 32 container beef stock preferably low sodium.
Kosher salt and pepper
1 pkg Whole Foods Savory Chicken Seasoning Mix
Olive oil
1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water, beaten well
9 inch square baking dish
Normally I would use fresh herbs for the pot roast but a good salt free mix that contains thyme, oregano etc is a good starting point in a pinch. If you choose to use the pot roast packet mix, omit the chicken mix and watch any additional salt additions. You can also make your own gravy with the pan juices but I found the mix makes for a thicker sauce.
For the pot roast:
Roughly chop the yellow onion, shallot, 6 garlic cloves, carrot and 3 of the celery ribs. Set aside.
Heat slow cooker to high and set timer for 3 hours. Discard the veg from the slow cooker after the roast is finished cooking. Oven Method: Follow all of the steps using a heavy bottomed dutch oven and bring liquid and roast to a simmer before placing tightly covered in a 325 degree oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Add half of the container of stock into the pot with the seasoning mix/ herbs.
Put a saute pan large enough to accommodate the roast over medium high heat. Once your pan is good and hot, you can check by adding a drop of water and if it bounces and dances upon hitting the pan, it's hot enough. Add your chuck roast which you have sprinkled with salt. Lower the heat to medium and allow the meat to sear for 4 minutes without disturbing it for maximum browning. After 4 minutes is up check your meat, which should be a lovely caramel color, if not give it an additional 2 minutes and turn, browning all sides of the meat. Resist the urge to turn or flip the meat during the first 4 minutes.
Remove meat to slow cooker and add a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan. Toss in the roughly chopped veg and saute for 2 minutes. Add the remaining stock and allow the pan to deglaze for 2 to 3 minutes making sure to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add veg and stock mixture to the slow cooker and make sure that the meat is covered by either liquid or veg. Place lid on cooker and allow to cook for 3 hours. Meat should be fork tender when done. Remove to plate and allow to cool. Reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid. After meat has cooled, trim off any visible fat or gristle and cut into bite size pieces.
Assembly:
Chop remaining veg except peas and set aside.
Remove pastry from freezer and allow to thaw according to package directions.
Chop potato into large chunks and place into large bowl with meat and gravy mix. Add 1 cup of cooking liquid and stir to combine.
In a medium saute pan over medium high heat, add oil and chopped red onion, celery, carrot and finely chopped garlic. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes until the carrots have brightened in color and the onion has begun to brown. Add frozen peas and saute for 1 minute more. Allow mixture to rest off the heat for 10 minutes before adding it to the meat and potato mixture. Mix gently to combine and if the mix appears a bit dry add more of the cooking liquid. You may not need all 2 cups of the cooking liquid. The meat and veg should be coated with gravy but not swimming in it. Salt and pepper to taste. Any additions in veg can be done during the saute process. Add any frozen veg such as edamame with the frozen peas.
Preheat oven to temperature indicated on the package and place the first sheet of pastry in the bottom of your baking dish. You will be par baking the bottom crust to ensure that it does not get mushy. Once the crust is in the dish liberally poke with a fork, docking the crust and preventing it from puffing up. Place in the oven for 10 minutes and remove to a rack when the crust is a light golden color. This may take more than 10 minutes depending on your pastry and oven so check it after 8 minutes and then every few minutes after.
Once your bottom crust has cooled, about 20 minutes, add your filling and brush the sides of the bottom pastry with the egg mixture. You can add the top crust at this point or you can get creative and make shapes and combine them to make a crust, I used triangles which puff up and make a nice visually interesting top crust. Make sure to brush all pieces with the egg mixture (egg wash) to ensure that they stick together and brush the top of the finished pie with the egg wash to ensure it becomes golden brown. Make sure to cut a vent in your pie or leave a space between your pastry pieces for steam to escape to prevent boiling over.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is golden and the filing is bubbly.
Possible Variations on this theme:
Substitute half the stock for 1 bottle of stout beer and 1/3 cup maple syrup for a Guinness Maple pie. Add turnips or parsnips in place of celery and/or carrot. Use real maple syrup for this as anything less will create off flavors in the final product. Meadow Brook Farms creates superior wood fired maple syrup made by the Johnson family in the lovely Catskills of New York.
You can swap out the protein for chicken but I would recommend using thighs instead of breasts as they have more flavor and are much less likely to dry out. Cook with skin on or off but cut the cooking time for the meat in half. Bone in meat will provide more flavor than bone out. Remove skin before combining into pie filling. Adjust the gravy to a poultry or cream type gravy and use chicken or vegetable stock in lieu of beef.
Tips and Tricks:
For all variations, defatting the cooking liquid will lower the fat content and provide a better finished product. Simply pour off the liquid into a defatting cup or if you don't have a defatting cup place in a coffee cup and put in the coldest part of the fridge for 2 hours until the fat congeals at the top and remove fat cap with a spoon and discard. Reheat in the microwave for 45 seconds or until the liquid is lukewarm.
If you choose to use a crust and the corners begin to brown before the center is finished, simply cover with aluminum foil and continue to bake until the center is golden.
WLS Friendly Variations:
Omit the bottom crust and use shapes cut with a biscuit or cookie cutter to create a crust on the top of the pie only using 1/2 a sheet of pastry.
Decrease the amount of meat and supplement with additional veggies, keep in mind to avoid high moisture veg like zucchini. Good options include green beans, edamame, parsnip, turnip, celery root and kohlrabi.
Eliminate both crusts and potato pieces from pie and top the pie with mashed potato made with minimal or no fat like olive oil or fat free sour cream.
For the potato mash crust, bake at 450 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Brush the mashed topping with egg wash to create a golden brown and slightly crispy crust.
You can go vegetarian on this dish by supplementing with squash or root veg cut small and steamed ahead in addition to the other veg to give it body and use a vegan gravy mix.
Nutritional Lowdown
All nutritional information is calculated using Recipe Calc V4.0.
Standard Pie
657 Calories
276 from fat
65 grams of protein
WLS options
Without 1 or both crusts
Top Crust
561 Calories
217 from fat
63 grams of protein
Crust decoration equal to 1/2 a sheet of pastry
466 Calories
158 from fat
62 grams of protein
Half the meat and double the veg with mashed potato crust
276 Calories
65 from fat
33 grams of protein
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment