Stuffed Artichokes

Artichokes are one of my favorite vegetables that I don’t eat every often. This time of year, the fresh artichokes are really delicious and wonderfully large, very stuffable. And the stuffing part isn’t set in stone – I usually use a chicken stew but I made one of my curried vegetable pies yesterday and thought, when I saw a beautiful big artichoke in the store this morning, that the leftovers would be great stuffing for that artichoke! So this one is vegan but any type of stew, preferably a creamed stew, will work as filling.

Serves 4. Prepare 2 large artichokes:

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the stem and cut off the very bottom, like cutting off the bottom of a carrot or onion. The stem of the artichoke is quite edible, tastes just like the heart. Then cut the stem off at the base of the artichoke so that it will sit flat in the pot. Some people cut off the top half of the artichoke but I don’t bother, a few spines on the ends don’t bother me but feel free. Place the artichokes and stems in a steamer over water and cook until the leave are falling away from the center. Remove from the steamer and let cool (trust me you don’t want to do the next step when the artichokes are boiling hot!).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When the artichokes are cooled, fold back the leaves and remove the tiny center leaves to reveal the choke. Using a spoon, remove the choke trying not to break the outer leaves from the middle (but it’s okay if this happens, just lean the sections of the artichoke on the outside of the baking dish or against each other). It’s best to use a greased baking dish that is about the size of the artichoke, so for the 2 artichokes, 2 dishes are needed.

Dice the tender parts of the stems and add to the filling. For 2 jumbo artichokes, use about 4 cups of stew. SEE: Creamy Chicken Stew with Asparagus (leaving out the asparagus of course), Curried Vegetable Pie, Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie, etc. Top with seasoned bread crumbs – 1/4 cup gluten-free bread crumbs tossed with olive oil (or melted vegan butter or avocado oil) and herbs. Or if like me you have leftover curried vegetable pie, use the remaining crust as the topping (or cut out rounds of pie crust).

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about a half hour if the stew is cold, less if it’s already hot. And if topped with a raw pie crust, bake for about 40 minutes.

Oil Pie Crust (dairy free, egg free, gluten free, soy free, egg free)

I do love pies but it’s been difficult to find a good pie crust that’s gluten free, egg free and sugar free. A friend once gave me a recipe for an olive oil pie crust but it didn’t taste very good to me. So I’ve been searching and I think I’ve found the perfect substitute. Hope you’ll agree. However, instead of using a strong tasting olive oil, I’ve combined it with half milder olive oil and half mild avocado oil. It’s easy to make, just need to plan ahead!

You’ll need:

1/4 cup mild olive oil

1/4 cup avocado oil

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (more or less)

2 3/4 cup all purpose gluten-free flour

1 teaspoon salt

One hour before you start making the crust, put the oils (mixed together) in the freezer. If you’ve planned well ahead of time, you can also put the mixture in the refrigerator overnight or longer in a closed container. This is the step that makes the crust flaky.

When the oils are solidified, measure the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and fluff with a fork (or if you own one, with a sifter). Add the oil and using a fork, combine with the flour mixture until you have pea size pellets of flour. Add the milk piecemeal, stirring the mixture after each addition, until the flour mixture is all combined and sticking together (which is why you may need a little less or a little more milk).

This makes 2 crusts so split the dough in half and put each ball into a plastic bag, flatten a little so it doesn’t break apart when cold and difficult to roll, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

About 15 minutes before you take the dough out of the frig, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the dough (I used plastic wrap to cover my counter and the top of the dough rather than flour) to roughly a quarter inch, remove the top layer of plastic wrap, lift on the plastic wrap and flip the rolled crust into your pie plate or baking container. This crust can be slightly crumbly so don’t worry if you have to patch it a little. Repeat if you’re using a top crust.

Blind bake for approximately 15 minutes. Cool slightly before adding filling and top crust. Then bake as you would a normal pie. If using just as a top crust, place on top of cold filling and bake. For a single crust pie, increase oven temperature to 425 and bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Curried Vegetable Pie (dairy free, gluten free, soy free, vegan)

I LOVE curry! It’s one of my very favorite dishes so when I saw a recipe in the Trader Joe Fearless Flyer for Spicy Pumpkin Curry Pot Pie, I had to adapt it. Since I didn’t put any pumpkin in my pie, I’ve renamed the recipe to fit the actual ingredients. Since it contains beans, you could serve it as a side dish or an entree.

Like many of my recipes, this one can be adapted to suit your family’s tastes. For example, I used butternut squash but any winter squash, including pumpkin, could be substituted. Also, I love white kidney beans so I used those but feel free to substitute another bean, such as garbanzo; instead of parsnips, you could use carrots, and instead of the chopped dates, feel free to use dried cranberries, raisins, currents, etc. Whatever your choices, remember that curry loves sweet foods!

You’ll need for the vegetables:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion (I used sweet onions)

2 medium parsnips, cut into medium sized pieces

1 cup butternut squash, cut into medium sized pieces

1 bunch rainbow chard cut into shreds (feel free to use any chard or kale)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

16 oz can of beans, drained

1/3 cup chopped dates (or other dried fruit)

For the sauce, you’ll need:

1/4 cup avocado oil

1/4 cup gluten free flour mix

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 cup non-dairy milk

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon curry paste (depending on your taste)

And for the pie, you’ll need:

1 9″ pie gluten-free pie crust (I use Wholly Gluten Free even though it has a small amount of sugar in it but feel free to use whatever pie crust your family likes, just remember, don’t put a cold pie crust on top of hot mixture or hot mixture into a cold uncooked pie crust) (or see my recipe for gluten-free pie crust)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, add the 3 tablespoons of oil, heat then saute the onion and parsnips (or carrots) for about 5 minutes. Add the squash, cover and cook another 5 minutes. Add the chard, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook for about 5 more minutes or until vegetables are softened but still hold together. Remove from heat.

To prepare the sauce, heat the oil in the bottom of a saucepan and add the curry powder (remember not to burn the curry, just toast it so have your heat on medium). Add the flour and whisk in; it should absorb all the oil. Let simmer on low for several minutes to cook the flour. Add the non-dairy milk (any milk except soy which will not thicken); coconut milk would be wonderful if you can eat coconut. Whisk constantly until thickened; if too thick (should be the consistency of watery mash potatoes), add a little more milk. Once completed, pour over the vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Grease a 9″ round casserole dish and then add the vegetable mixture.

If you are using a frozen pie crust, prebake per directions. Many frozen crusts will not come out of the pan until pre-baked (like the Wholly Gluten Free crust I use). That works well since then we’re putting a hot crust on hot mixture. Once pre-baked, flip it on top of the vegetable mixture. Bake in the oven until crust is done and mixture is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serves 6-8.

HINT: If you’d like to add some crunch to this dish, add some seeds, I used pumpkin.

Butternut and Chard Tart (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, vegan)

I enjoy savory pies just as much as sweet ones. I wasn’t a believer in mixing squashes and cheese until I tried this tart. So yummy and such a great side dish for Thanksgiving. Feel free to substitute pumpkin or sweet potato, maybe even a different squash like acorn or hubbard. Serves 6-8.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. You’ll need for the crust:

1 1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour
1/4 cup pepitas, toasted and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste (1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/8 to 1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 tablespoons cold water

Since this is a gluten-free crust, the oil and water may change depending on the flour blend you use. Mix the above with a food processor or a fork until crumbly. Spread in a 9″ pie plate, pressing on sides and bottom. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. When cut this crust will act more like a graham cracker crust than a regular pie crust.

For the filling, you’ll need:

3 cups diced squash
1/4 cup olive oil
2 diced shallots
2 medium diced garlic cloves (or one large)
1/4 cup toasted and chopped pepitas
4-5 cups of sliced rainbow chard
1 tablespoon vinegar (1 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses could substitute for both the vinegar and agave nectar)
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or honey would work)
Salt and pepper to taste (approximately 1/4 teaspoon of each)
4 slices of non-dairy provolone or other creamy cheese
1/3 cup aquafaba combined with 1 teaspoon arrowroot starch (if you can use eggs, you can substitute 2 large eggs here)

Roast the squash for approximately 1/2 hour until tender, turning once so that it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Meanwhile in a large skillet combine the olive oil, diced shallots and garlic and saute for about a minute until tender. Add chard, vinegar, agave, and seasonings, combine and cook for another 3-5 minutes until chard is tender (I cooked mine a little longer because I like the stems along with the leaves and it takes a little longer for them to get tender). Add the pepitas, cheese and aquafaba (or eggs slightly beaten if you can use them). Stir in the squash and pour into the pie shell. Add another 4 slices of non-dairy cheese on top and bake for another 20-25 minutes until filling is set (the aquafaba may still be a little runny when you take it out of the oven but will set as it sits). Serve warm.

Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie (Dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free)

One of my husband’s favorite dishes is a pot pie. This one has lots of tender chicken or turkey for my husband along with plenty of vegetables to satisfy me. If you pre-bake the bottom crust, it won’t get as soggy from the gravy while baking. Feel free to change up the vegetables — lima beans, mushrooms, garlic, etc. can be added along with greens like kale or spinach (chopped of course). I had some leftover mushrooms that I sautéed, cut up and added to my stew. Some diced sweet potatoes would also do well in a stew or any diced and cooked winter squash.

First make some chicken or turkey stew:

1/2 medium onion diced
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup cooked peas
1/2 cup cooked string beans
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1 cup cooked chicken or turkey diced
3 cups chicken or turkey stock
1/4 cup brown rice flour
Herbs, salt and pepper to your taste

Cook the onions and celery in a little oil under tender, about 3 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the stock and herbs. Whisk the brown rice flour into the other 1/2 cup of stock and add it to the stockpot and whisk until the mixture thickens. Add the cooked meat and vegetables and cool in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the pot pie or whatever you want to do with the stew (you could also use this for chicken and dumplings or a chicken casserole with a cauliflower crust).

If you don’t cool the stew before adding it to the pot pie, the bottom crust will get too soggy, even if you pre-baked it.

You can either make your own gluten-free crust (see my recipe for pie crust), use a mix (Bob’s Red Mill makes a very tasty mix) or purchase a ready-made gluten-free crust.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Pre-bake your crust per package directions. When cool, add the cooled stew to fill the pie crust. Add top layer and bake approximately 40 minutes until pie bubbles and top crust is browned.

Tomato Pie (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, vegan)

Another very easy to make recipe, tomato pie takes some planning and most of the day but the time is spent waiting for the tomatoes to dry and that takes 4-6 hours. So if you want to try this easy recipe, plan ahead and make sure you have plenty of time available. Not something you can throw together at the last minute. It’s one way for me to use all the overabundance of tomatoes I have this time of year.

You’ll need:

5-8 tomatoes depending on size
one small onion
a gluten-free pie crust, bottom layer only (see my recipe under desserts)
1 to 2 cups of non-dairy mozzarella cheese (depending on how much cheese you like)

Line a large baking tray with 4 or 5 layers of paper towels

Slice:

5-8 tomatoes, depending on the size (you’ll want about 30 slices)
one small onion

Let the tomatoes and onion dry on the paper towels, turning every couple of hours, for 4-6 hours. I also put a couple of layers over the top so that nothing gets into the tomatoes and I can help dry out the slices. Make sure that its a single layer of tomatoes on the tray. If you don’t dry your tomatoes thoroughly, you’ll have tomato juice in your soggy pie.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prebake a 9 inch gluten-free pie crust. Blind baking the bottom crust helps make sure that it doesn’t come out soggy.

When the crust is cool, add about a half cup of cheese and then place the tomato slices into the pie crust trying to cover the entire surface. Add a layer of onions. Continue to add tomatoes and onions until you have three rounds and the crust is mostly filled. Cover the top of the pie with cheese and bake for 45 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

As a variation, you can add some cooked Italian sausage, either slices or ground, into the pie as you’re layering the tomatoes and onions.