Vegetable Pot Pie

I don't know why I didn't find a simple recipe like this online. So I went and did it as per my imagination... which wasn't very wild, really. Chicken Pot Pie, a fantastic dish, usually has very little chicken in it. Adding too much chicken doesn't help the pie, because the pie is about the gravy and the texture of the pie crust (at least to me). Theoretically, removing the chicken should also produce a really nice pie. And it did. Here it is:

1.5 cups of steamed vegetables (more on that below)
2 tbsp oil (canola or olive)
2 tbsp flour
1.5 cups of skim milk
30-60 g of cheese  (I had mozzarella cheese, you can use anything you like)
1/4 tsp of dry thyme, oregano and basil
salt
pepper

To assemble the pies:
3 ramekins
Prepared pastry dough - I used the individual sized pastry shells from the frozen section of the grocery store. You can either make your own, or buy the full sheet and cut it to fit your ramekins.

Fresh Vegetables: I like to use the fresh stuff as much as I can, mostly for the flavour. There is a big difference between fresh veges and frozen veges.BUT if you're in a bind and need to use up the frozen stuff, feel free to do so.

For this recipe I used what I had in my fridge: mushrooms, orange bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, half a large potato, green beans and a handful of pitted black olives. I cooked each one individually in the microwave as my roux was cooking. I like my pie filling thick, so I drained the cooked vegetables of any excess water, so that it wouldn't water down my pie filling.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees C.
1. The Roux: Warm your pot on medium-low heat and add the oil.
2. Add the flour to the pot and stir frequently. As it is cooking, you want the flour to change colour a little, and have a slightly nutty smell.This took me a good 8-10 minutes on medium-low heat. It's too easy to burn the roux, so keep an eye on this as you stir.
3. Add the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, and stir incessantly. May no lumps form. And may the mixture be a smooth consistency once all the liquid has been added. Let this cook for 5 minutes and stir every minute.
4. Add the cheese and stir till it all melts and becomes a homogenous, smooth mixture. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the spices. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remember you haven't salted your vegetables, but you have added cheese.
6. Add all the vegetables and cook this wonderful concoction for another 3 minutes or so.

Taste this now. Add salt/pepper as necessary.

Putting the pie together:
7. Divide the pie filling amongst the ramekins.
8. Neatly lay out your pie crust on top. Cut a generous cross on top to let the steam out.
9. Place in middle rack of oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
10. If the crust isn't golden yet, broil for another 30 seconds to a minute. Keep an eye on it, so that the crust doesn't burn.

And there you have it. Just absolutely wonderful stuff. Makes 3 servings. Each has 1 (daily recommended) serving of vegetables. This is not a low-fat dish, but it is quite delicious.

Enjoy!!