potpie-style seitan over smashed new potatoes

I don't know about you, but my least favorite part of making pot pie is the pastry crust. Just the thought of having to make the crust, waiting for it and rolling it out is enough of  a deterrent for me. 

For your culinary enjoyment, without the hassle of the crust, is Potpie-Style Seitan over Smashed New Potatoes. 

This dish takes new potatoes, with cook in about 15 minutes, smashed with a bit of vegan butter and tops it with sauteed seitan and gravy speckled with carrots, corn and peas. While your potatoes are cooking (no need to peel new potatoes), you saute cubed seitan, which you reserve for later. In the same pan, you cook the onions and make your gravy. Then you add a cup of mixed veggies of corn, peas and carrots to the gravy. That is it!

I made Bryanna's Buttah recipe using olive oil instead of a neutral oil for cooking this recipe. Or you can use regular vegan butter with a splash of olive oil.

To serve, you lay the potatoes on the platter, cover with the seitan and gravy and watch everyone devour. The potatoes soak up the gravy and become creamy themselves without the work of making mashed potatoes, all the while retaining the texture of potatoes. The seitan is cooked to golden crispness and the veggies are tender.

My CSA box contained rapini this week, so I sauteed the bunch with garlic and olive oil for our side dish. If you blanch any bitter greens in a large pot of boiling water, it will reduce the bitterness of the vegetable. Make sure to shock the blanched vegetables in ice water and drain well before proceeding with your cooking. 

Not a lot of leftovers with this one.

Cost Breakdown

seitan: $2

flour, chicken-style broth, spices: $.50

onion, veggies: $1.50

potatoes: $3

Total to make 5 servings:

$7.00

RECIPE UPDATE: this dish has been tested and revised and will be featured in the upcoming cookbook "Everyday Vegan Eats," by Zsu Dever.