The Captain’s Favourite Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

Helllllloooooooooo Readers! My hectically busy year in London has drawn to a close and I’m back in glorious Nova Scotia again, just in time for endless delightful North American autumnal baked goods and comfort foods. First up to/on the plate: Vegan Chicken à la King and Pot Pies!

This is the recipe I grew up with, veganised. It’s super easy, down-home comfort food. It’s nothin’ fancy, but it’s home. Mess around with it if you like, add more vegetables, try some different seasonings, whatever you like. Make it yours and enjoy it.

Chicken à la King (Serves 4)

• ¼ cup vegan margarine
• ¼ shredded carrot
• ¼ cup finely chopped celery
• ¼ cup chopped green onion, greens & whites
• 8 medium brown mushrooms, sliced
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup soy creamer
• 2 cups cubed faux chicken
• ¼ cup chopped pimiento or roasted red peppers
• ½ – 1 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt margarine. Add carrot, celery, and green onion, stirring occasionally, cooking for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until veggies and mushrooms are tender.

Stir in the flour and celery salt until absorbed and smooth, about one minute.

Whisk in the veggie broth and creamer. I used a vegan chicken-flavoured vegetable broth, but straight-up veg broth would work just as well.

If you don’t have soy creamer on hand you can use soy milk, but the extra fat in the creamer comforts up this bitch, if you know what I’m sayin’. I used Belsoy’s cooking creamer. It conveniently comes in a one cup container.

Cook for 9-11 minutes, whisking constantly. This is when you can play with the flavour by adding salt. I ended up adding ½ teaspoon in the end, but you may need to adjust based on how salty your broth is.

Now, for the chicken! You can use whatever vegan chicken substitute you like, whether you take the time to make your own perfected seitan chicken recipe or you hop down to the store and pick up a commercially-made chicken substitute like I did, it’s all good in THIS hood, yo! This was a quick and lazy comfort food evening in my kitchen, so I couldn’t be arsed to make my own and bought a Gardein grain-based faux poulet. Do what suits you, just make sure you have 2 cups of the cubed stuff ready to roll.

Add your faux chicken and pimientos to the pot now and stir to incorporate.

Reduce heat to low and let the flavours meld. The more time you give it, the better it gets, I say about half an hour.

This is traditionally what my family will serve over toast as Chicken à la King. I would never advocate eating white bread (except when it comes to French toast. You ALWAYS need white bread for French toast), but what works perfectly for à la King is a thick-sliced bread that will absorb some of that gorgeous gravy. I went for a whole wheat Texas toast. Guuuuurl!

Split à la King into four even portions and serve hot over toast.

Now, whilst looking at that picture y’all might be thinking, “WHAT?!?! YOU DIDN’T TELL ME TO ADD PEAS!” Calm the heck down, champ. That’s in the next step, for Chicken Pot Pies. You’ll see. We’ll get there. Now hold my hand and let’s go forth together.

Vegan Chicken Pot Pies (Serves 4)

Pot Pie Filling

• One batch of Chicken à la King (recipe above)
• 1 cup cooked & drained mixed vegetables
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• ½ teaspoon dried sage

Cook your Chicken à la King as directed above. When you add your faux chicken near the end, add the ingredients listed above and continue to allow your flavours to meld as instructed. Badda bing!

I chose peas & carrots because a) I effing love peas & carrots and to me they scream “CHICKEN POT PIE VEGGIES!” and b) I didn’t like the other mixed bag available at the store with peas, carrots, corn and lima beans because I facking hate corn and I don’t trust lima beans. So there’s that. But add whatever mixed veggies you like, as long as they’re small and pre-cooked before you add them to the mix.

As your flavours are melding over low heat for about half an hour, get started on that pie crust!

Wicked Easy Vegan Pot Pie Crust

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 6-8 tablespoons ice water

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a mixing bowl, mix together flour and salt. Add shortening and cut into flour mixture with a pastry cutter. Mix in ice water until mixture forms a slightly tacky ball. You don’t want it to be too sticky, so adjust your water level accordingly.

Split dough into four even balls and roll first ball out on floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness.

Divide chicken mixture evenly into four heat-proof bowls. Oh yes, my dears, we’re making individual pot pies! Because everything tastes better when you don’t have to share.

Place your rolled dough over top of your bowl. You can either make it sit flat on top of the mixture and cut it to fit inside of the bowl, or bring it up to crimp around the top edges. The crust is more likely to burn if you do it as I have in the following pictures, so you will need to keep an eye on your oven and cover your pies with tinfoil if they start to get too brown.

Trim off excess dough.

Cut vents in your dough and, if you’re so inclined, add a decorative dough shape on top. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a knife or cookie cutter to express yo’self via pastry shapes! You wild child, you! I used the lamest maple leaf cookie cutter ever to show I’M BACK IN CANADA! I also rubbed some shortening on my dough maple leaf to make it brown nicely in the oven.

Repeat with other pot pie bowls. Bake for 30-35 minutes. If crust is getting too dark, cover with tinfoil.

YES! Hot pot pies, straight from the oven! Let some of the steam out and let them cool a bit before you dig in, lest you want to be shouting, “HELLFIRE AND DAMNATION!” like I did when I tried to eat it immediately because I have no patience. This is Butcher-style comfort food, straight from the ’90s to you. It’s sure to warm you from the inside out on a chilly autumn evening.

Oh, and why “The Captain’s” favourite pot pies? Because I am a 6-year-old at heart and love playing dress-up and was wearing a Captain’s hat the entire time I was in the kitchen that evening. Captain Butcher, Master & Commander of the Kitchen! TROUBLE OFF THE PORT BOW! All hands on deck! Heave ho! Haul together, lads!

Until next time, my crew…stay warm and stay awesome.

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Tags: Broth, Carrots, Celery, Chicken, Earth Balance, Flour, Gardein, Green Onions, Mushrooms, Peas, Pimientos, Soy Creamer