French Lentil Pot Pie

One slice of this French Lentil Pie is truly satisfying, we like it best served warm and with a side of Tomato Jam. A great weekend project to make the winter days just a little more comforting.  

French Lentil Pot Pie
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced 1/4"
2 medium carrots (about 225 g), diced 1/4"
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 200 g), peeled and diced 1/4"
4 cups mushrooms (about 200 g), diced 1/4"
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt and pepper
1/4 cup Flourist Sifted Red Spring Wheat Flour
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk 
1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable stock
1 cup (120 g) peas, frozen
1/4 cup (15 g) herbs such as parsley and chives, finely chopped
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp miso paste
1 cup cooked Flourist French Lentils, see Cooking Guide
1 recipe for Einkorn Pastry Dough
1 egg white

French Lentil Filling
Dice the onions, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms as uniformly as possible. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan. When heated, add onions, carrots and cook on medium-low heat until soft and the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add potatoes, mushrooms and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Stir together and continue cooking until mushrooms have released some moisture and have shrunken, about 5 minutes. 

Slowly sprinkle Flourist Sifted Red Spring Wheat Flour evenly over top of mixture and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook out the raw flour flavour, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually add 1/2 cup each of milk and stock, in a slow and steady stream, stirring continuously until the mixture is smooth. Scrape the bottom of the pot to release any brown bits. Depending on how much sauce you prefer in the filling, add up to 1/2 cup more of liquid. Bring heat to medium and allow mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes until juices have thickened.

Remove from heat, add peas and chopped herbs. Mix vinegar, miso paste and 1-2 tsp of water to form a slurry. Slowly add the slurry to the mixture and stir in the cooked Flourist French Lentils until thoroughly combined. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary by adding salt, pepper or vinegar. Set French Lentil filling aside to cool. 

Assemble and Bake
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly butter a pie pan.

Remove dough from the fridge. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll one disc into a circle about 13 inches wide and approximately 1⁄8-1/4" thick. Gently ease the dough into the prepared pie pan, lightly pressing it into the contours of the pan and making sure there is about 1/2 inch over hang all around. If any part tears or comes away, simply press the dough back together. Place in refrigerator and repeat rolling with the second disc, placing the rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and into the refrigerator.  

To make an egg wash, lightly whip up the egg white with 15ml water with a fork. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the pie dough with egg wash (this helps to protect the dough from becoming soggy during baking). 

Tip the French Lentil filling into the pie pan and top with the second rolled out dough. Trim the pastry dough as necessary, you want 1 inch over hang altogether. Fold the top layer of dough under the bottom layer, tucking the two layers together. Decorate the edge as you wish - pressing with fork tines, fluting, crimping etc. With a paring knife or kitchen shears, cut steam vents on the top dough.

Place the whole pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes, the longer the better.

Preheat oven to 375°F. When ready to bake, generously brush the surface of the pie and the edges with egg wash. Bake for 60-90 minutes until deep golden brown and filling is bubbling. Let cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack, serve warm or at room temperature. 

Tip: Re-roll scraps of left over pie dough and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut into desired shapes and bake until golden brown. Alternatively, spread your favourite jam on top, roll up the dough and slice into bite size pieces before baking.