Ali Cooks: Creamy Mushroom Pot Pie

My latest kitchen experiment will require a little tweaking tonight, but the below recipe will get you a pretty tasty dinner either way.  In fact, I discovered a way to make this dish super quick and easy for busy weeknights!

But first:  I will admit an accidental grocery shopping mishap.  I bought puff pastry cups instead of a roll of puff pastry!  Not the end of the world, though the puff pastry cups were much smaller than my ramekins, and the two that I used for my demo last night kind of got lost in the pot pie.  So...the below will include more of puff pastry 'dumplings' than an actual topping, but still tasty!  Tonight I'm going to try baking the puff pastry a baking sheet while the filling cooks in the ramekin--this way the puff pastry can brown and get crispy.  I'll just plop the 'cups' on top of the filling after they both bake.

Now, on to my idea for weeknight dinner swiftness...  Cook the pot pie filling, store it in the fridge, and bake the individual pot pie needed for each night.  I'm the only one eating the pot pies this week, so I'll happily make one at a time for tonight and each night until the filling is gone.

Also, I personally like smaller bites in my pot pie, so I'll probably chop my mushrooms even finer if I ever make this again.  Live and learn (and cook)!

Creamy Mushroom Pot Pie

*adapted from Simply-Delicious-Food.com

Ingredients:

 A few handfuls of mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbs flour
200ml vegetable stock
200ml cream

lemon or lime juice
salt & pepper to taste
1 roll ready-made puff pastry or frozen puff pastry cups

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

In a large frying pan, sauté the mushrooms in a splash of olive oil until they are golden brown.  Stir in the flour after a few minutes, followed by the vegetable stock and cream.  Whisk until the sauce is smooth and allow to simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.  Then season with a small amount of lemon/lime juice, thyme, salt and pepper.

Transfer the creamy mushrooms to individual oven-proof ramekins/bowls.
Cut out circles of puff pastry big enough to fit the ramekins or place a few of the puff pastry cups on top of the mushroom mixture in each ramekin.

 

Place in the oven and allow to bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and serve.